tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75969653189974688592023-06-20T06:22:57.546-07:00Bear-y Leafy KittyThere are altaholics.... and then there's the rest of us. A Druid blog for the player that never wants to have to roll another character again. A Bear/Tree/Cat blog dedicated to being able to queue for all three roles in the Dungeon Finder.BearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-30134895544345530092011-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:002011-01-25T06:30:34.356-08:00On State of the Blog Speeches:Yup. I did exactly what every other blogger out there did, once Cataclysm came out. I started playing, and didn't stop until I hit a wall.<br />
<br />
Oh come on, like blogging would be the first thing on YOUR mind with a new expansion out there dangling in front of you!<br />
<br />
So, one... two? Two months in now? And I've made some impressions.<br />
<br />
I am not pleased with the state of Bear.<br />
<br />
In Wrath, Druids were THE tank to beat. Oh, go on, say what you will about Paladins and Warriors. Druids had the spammable AoE snap threat, massive HP pools, and more avoidance and mitigation than you could shake a stick at. I tell you the truth, there is no way that my guild would have downed Sindragosa with a disconnected MT if I was anything other than a druid, putting my fuzzy butt on the line there. 22 stacks of Mystic Buffet, I held her, and was able to properly hand her off to the MT as soon as she reconnected. Had I been able to do it one second earlier, I would have been behind the ice block, been able to drop stacks, and return to the fight.<br />
<br />
Now, not so much. Bears are fantastic in single-target fights, just as Warriors are. A Bear's Mangle is analogous to the Warrior's Shield Slam. Both hit like a truck and a half, and fancy mechanics affect it in some way, shape or form, like Shield Block boosting its damage, or Berserk letting us spam a cleaving Mangle for 15-20 seconds. We're great there. No problems with threat whatsoever. But the AoE threat game is dominated by the Death Knights and the Paladins. Now, obviously, I don't expect a tank to be absolutely phenomenal at everything. The last thing we need is Wrath 2.0 to roll back around again. But Bear tanking worries me somewhat, especially given how much of a hell it is to juggle Thrash uptime, three stacks of Lacerate, Demo Roar, Pulverize, watching your rage for Maul, and Berserk proccing mangles.<br />
<br />
It's no secret that Bears take the most about of damage when tanking multiple mobs, compared to the other tanks. As far as survival is concerned, Warriors are seen gearing straight Block, to get themselves as close to a passive 30% physical damage reduction as possible. Death Knights, are stupidly hard to kill, what with that one DK Ragewyn soloing Marrowgar. And Paladins, well. You know what I say. Paladins are the cockroaches of Azeroth. Savage Defense sucks compared to Blood Shield + Death Strike. Savage Defense only stops one hit then disappears, regardless of whether it was 1 million damage, or 1 damage. Savage Defense sucks compared to Paladins and Warriors. Their mitigation mechanics are entirely passive, whereas Savage Defense requires continued, active damage output. And it only has one charge. We smack a mob, put up a shield, his buddy taps us for 1/5th of the shield's strength, pops it, and until we get to attack again, we're taking damage. I would like to see Savage Defense be turned into an absorption shield, a la Death Knights, where if the damage doesn't total up to the bubble, it doesn't pop.<br />
<br />
I'm also concerned about some fairly large nerfs on the horizon:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80965/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80965//tooltip/js" target="_blank">Skull Bash (Cat)</a> / <a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80964/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80964//tooltip/js" target="_blank">Skull Bash (Bear)</a> now prevents spell from that school from being cast for 4 sec, down from 5 sec.</li>
<li><a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/6807/maul/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/6807/maul//tooltip/js" target="_blank">Maul</a> now scales from 24% of Attack Power, down from 30%.</li>
<li><a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/33745/lacerate/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/33745/lacerate//tooltip/js" target="_blank">Lacerate</a> now scales from 7.66% of Attack Power, down from 9.58%. Now makes enemies bleed for 35 + 2.56% of Attack Power, down from 35 + 3.2% of Attack Power.</li>
<li><a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/33878/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/33878//tooltip/js" target="_blank">(Mangle) Mangle (Bear)</a> now deals 235% normal damage plus 681, down from 300% plus 870.</li>
<li><a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80313/pulverize/" rel="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/80313/pulverize//tooltip/js" target="_blank">Pulverize</a> now deals 80% weapon damage, down from 100%. Additional damage reduced by 20% as well, from 450 to 360.</li>
</ul>Also, Berserk doesn't break Fears anymore, and shifting doesn't break roots. I confess to not having tanked as much as I would have liked. I resolved to not tank myself until I had learned every dungeon as a DPS. I still mess up here and there, but I am mostly able to keep the rising sense of dread in check.<br />
<br />
Cat State of the Blog comes next.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-11257457066897229872011-01-02T03:59:00.000-08:002011-01-02T04:40:58.106-08:00On Karsh Steelbender's easy mode:I was taught how to do Karsh Steelbender by a bunch of people in an RDF they other day. (Whodathunk? Learning from an RDF group!)<br />
<br />
The method that was taught was sufficiently awesome that it just completely blows everything that anyone else is doing out of the water. Here's the skinny.<br />
<br />
Karsh Steelbender is a fight that is exactly identical between both Normal and Heroic modes, save the increased damage output. It may be worthwhile just to practice this method in normal before you do Heroic.<br />
<br />
At no point in time will you ever "soak" Karsh in the forge. Ever. This places too heavy a burden on the healer with the reflected AoE that pulses with each stack of debuff he gains, and can quickly obliterate a group. Instead, the tank should "dip" or perhaps even just "clip" him into the forge every time his debuff gets down to about five seconds or so, by kiting him through the edge, only adding one or two stacks of the debuff each time. To visualize, think of a circle, then draw a pentagon, that is just a little bit too small for the circle to fit into. The sides of the pentagon are the path that the tank should kite along. If by 12 or 13 stacks, Karsh does not look like he will be dead within the next application of debuff, allow the debuff to drop, kite the adds out into the grates surrounding the forge area, and kill them there, before repeating. <br />
<br />
This method: <br />
<br />
Eliminates the need to manage adds when the debuff drops off. <br />
Makes incoming damage manageable by spacing out the pulses of AoE damage caused by the application of the debuff, allowing your healer time to top everybody back up.<br />
Eliminates the need to worry about group members standing in the "Ring of Fire" that erupts when the debuff is dropped until the very end.<br />
Allows DPS to conserve their cooldowns until Karsh has seven or eight stacks, and not have the usable uptime be wasted by the debuff dropping.<br />
<br />
I've posted this to Wowhead, just because it *needs* to be seen by everyone. Hopefully it'll be up there soon.<br />
<br />
Here's an explanatory image, whipped up in GIMP:<span id="goog_617262329"></span><span id="goog_617262330"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TSByAQjWWdI/AAAAAAAAAGE/IXYQBt7Fdck/s1600/KarshSteelbender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TSByAQjWWdI/AAAAAAAAAGE/IXYQBt7Fdck/s320/KarshSteelbender.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-62189316854589360442010-11-17T19:11:00.000-08:002010-11-17T19:11:12.297-08:00On finishing the bucket list:IT IS DONE.<br />
<br />
One long-ass, annoying, artificially-lengthened questline and $DEITY I hate farming Elementium so damn much, I am DONE with the AQ questline. Push button, receive shiny Feat of Strength.<br />
<br />
On other things:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><strike>Complete Loremaster.</strike></li>
<li><strike>Get Raven Lord mount. </strike></li>
<li>Get Twenty-Five Tabards: </li>
<ul><li>Failed. Somehow, I conflated this with Twenty-Five Exalted Reps. Whoops. </li>
</ul><li>Get Insane in the Membrane: </li>
<ul><li>Scratched. It will continue to exist, sans Shendralar. I am very pleased that when it was announced that it might not make it, that I was able to unload all of my stockpiled Darkmoon Cards, Pristine Black Diamonds, and Librams for DISGUSTING MARKUP. =3</li>
</ul><li>Get a rogue to level 60 to use for Insane in the Membrane.</li>
<ul><li>Scratched. See above. Also, couldn't stand doing ANY 1-60 content. I blame Loremaster. </li>
</ul><li><strike>beat The Lich King like a rented mule.</strike></li>
<li><strike>Get a Venomhide Ravasaur.</strike></li>
<li><strike>Run Zul'Gurub as many times as possible in order to try to get the mounts.</strike></li>
<ul><li>But, given my luck, I will likely never see one drop.<strike><br />
</strike></li>
</ul><li><strike>Finish out the holiday events for a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=44177">VPD</a>.</strike></li>
<ul><li>AND I didn't cave and buy super-fast-flap. =3 <strike><br />
</strike></li>
</ul><li>Get an Ulduar drake.</li>
<ul><li>Scratched. No raiding. ._. </li>
</ul><li>Farm up mats to sell once Cataclysm hits.</li>
<ul><li>Will be working on that soon. </li>
</ul><li><strike>Farm up a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=13379">Piccolo of the Flaming Fire</a> for the sake of <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/12/breakfast-topic-revenge-is-oh-so-sweet/">goldseller griefing.</a></strike></li>
<li>Farm up a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=17481">Deathcharger</a></li>
<ul><li>There's still hope that it will drop before Cataclysm! </li>
</ul><li>Farm up a full set of Dungeon Set 1</li>
<ul><li>Scratched. The dungeons aren't going anywhere. </li>
</ul></ul>BearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-32657450019490307442010-11-03T22:43:00.000-07:002010-11-03T22:43:03.896-07:00On Eating Crow:<a href="http://bearyleafykitty.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-disappointment.html%20">Here's a quote from a while back:</a><br />
<br />
"Now, we move on to Ulduar, and knock out those hardmodes so we can get 310% speed mounts before the expansion hits, save everyone 5K gold. Again, not as excited for this, because you know that I am only ever going to use Swift Flight Form, anyways, although the extra speed boost will be nice."<br />
<br />
...okay, confession time. I finished the What A Long, Strange, Trip It's Been achievement, which, as I have mentioned, came out literally days before I was ready to finish it and get the VPD. And despite the ghastly purple color.... Proto-drakes are REALLY REALLY COOL! +_+<br />
<br />
Which makes it all the more tragic that we stopped raiding due to people's schedules changing. I am not *entirely* opposed to the idea of actively seeking a Rustbound Proto Drake anymore. (You know, as opposed to passively, "Oh, well, if I get it, I get it. I'm just along for the ride")<br />
<br />
....pardon me. I need to go bribe some people into Ulduar. +_+<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-83896442670083039892010-10-23T04:17:00.000-07:002010-10-23T04:46:28.504-07:00On the definition of insanity:<ol><li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:What_Tomorrow_Brings" title="Quest:What Tomorrow Brings"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">What Tomorrow Brings</span></a> - 250 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Only_One_May_Rise" title="Quest:Only One May Rise"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Only One May Rise</span></a> - 500 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60G] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Path_of_the_Righteous" title="Quest:The Path of the Righteous"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Path of the Righteous</span></a> - 500 reputation </strike><ul><li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60G] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Hand_of_the_Righteous" title="Quest:The Hand of the Righteous"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Hand of the Righteous</span></a> - 500 reputation (repeatable) </strike></li>
</ul></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Anachronos" title="Quest:Anachronos"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Anachronos</span></a> - 500 reputation (requires <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Neutral" title="Neutral"><span class="rep-neutral" title="Neutral">neutral</span></a> with <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Brood_of_Nozdormu" title="Brood of Nozdormu">Brood of Nozdormu</a>) </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Long_Forgotten_Memories" title="Quest:Long Forgotten Memories"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Long Forgotten Memories</span></a> - 50 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:A_Pawn_on_the_Eternal_Board" title="Quest:A Pawn on the Eternal Board"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">A Pawn on the Eternal Board</span></a> - 100 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Charge_of_the_Dragonflights" title="Quest:The Charge of the Dragonflights"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Charge of the Dragonflights</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike> Obtain the Shards: </strike><ul><li><strike><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_misc_gem_emerald_03.png" title="Inv misc gem emerald 03.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060919213717/wowwiki/images/thumb/5/5f/Inv_misc_gem_emerald_03.png/16px-Inv_misc_gem_emerald_03.png" width="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Green_Scepter_Shard" title="Green Scepter Shard"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="Green Scepter Shard is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>Green Scepter Shard<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a> fork </strike><ol><li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Eranikus,_Tyrant_of_the_Dream" title="Quest:Eranikus, Tyrant of the Dream"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Eranikus, Tyrant of the Dream</span></a> - 25 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Tyrande_and_Remulos" title="Quest:Tyrande and Remulos"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Tyrande and Remulos</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Nightmare%27s_Corruption" title="Quest:The Nightmare's Corruption"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Nightmare's Corruption</span></a> - 250 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Nightmare_Manifests" title="Quest:The Nightmare Manifests"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Nightmare Manifests</span></a> - 500 reputation </strike></li>
<li> <strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Champion_Returns" title="Quest:The Champion Returns"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Champion Returns</span></a> - 250 reputation </strike></li>
</ol></li>
<li><strike><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_misc_gem_ruby_03.png" title="Inv misc gem ruby 03.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061023011014/wowwiki/images/thumb/6/69/Inv_misc_gem_ruby_03.png/16px-Inv_misc_gem_ruby_03.png" width="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Red_Scepter_Shard" title="Red Scepter Shard"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="Red Scepter Shard is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>Red Scepter Shard<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a> fork </strike><ol><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Nefarius%27s_Corruption" title="Quest:Nefarius's Corruption"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Nefarius's Corruption</span></a> - 500 reputation </strike></li>
</ol></li>
<li><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_misc_gem_sapphire_03.png" title="Inv misc gem sapphire 03.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061023020904/wowwiki/images/thumb/c/c0/Inv_misc_gem_sapphire_03.png/16px-Inv_misc_gem_sapphire_03.png" width="16" /></a><strike> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Blue_Scepter_Shard" title="Blue Scepter Shard"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="Blue Scepter Shard is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>Blue Scepter Shard<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a> fork </strike><ol><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Azuregos%27s_Magical_Ledger" title="Quest:Azuregos's Magical Ledger"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Azuregos's Magical Ledger</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Translating_the_Ledger" title="Quest:Translating the Ledger"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Translating the Ledger</span></a></strike> <ul><li><strike><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_helmet_47.png" title="Inv helmet 47.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061011113110/wowwiki/images/thumb/0/0a/Inv_helmet_47.png/16px-Inv_helmet_47.png" width="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Narain%27s_Scrying_Goggles" title="Narain's Scrying Goggles"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="Narain's Scrying Goggles is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>Narain's Scrying Goggles<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a></strike> <ol><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Stewvul,_Ex-B.F.F." title="Quest:Stewvul, Ex-B.F.F."><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Stewvul, Ex-B.F.F.</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Scrying_Goggles%3F_No_Problem%21" title="Quest:Scrying Goggles? No Problem!"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Scrying Goggles? No Problem!</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
</ol></li>
<li><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_misc_food_15.png" title="Inv misc food 15.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060919172504/wowwiki/images/thumb/a/a9/Inv_misc_food_15.png/16px-Inv_misc_food_15.png" width="16" /></a><strike> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/500_Pound_Chicken" title="500 Pound Chicken"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="500 Pound Chicken is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>500 Pound Chicken<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a></strike> <ol><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Never_Ask_Me_About_My_Business" title="Quest:Never Ask Me About My Business"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Never Ask Me About My Business</span></a></strike> </li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Isle_of_Dread%21" title="Quest:The Isle of Dread!"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Isle of Dread!</span></a> - 500 Gadgetzan reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Dirge%27s_Kickin%27_Chimaerok_Chops" title="Quest:Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops</span></a> - 500 Gadgetzan reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Return_to_Narain" title="Quest:Return to Narain"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Return to Narain</span></a> - 500 reputation </strike></li>
</ol></li>
<li><a class="image" href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Inv_misc_book_06.png" title="Inv misc book 06.png"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070329111321/wowwiki/images/thumb/9/96/Inv_misc_book_06.png/16px-Inv_misc_book_06.png" width="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Draconic_For_Dummies:_Volume_II" title="Draconic For Dummies: Volume II"><span class="itemlink ajaxttlink qc-common" title="Draconic For Dummies: Volume II is a common quality item."><span class="bracket">[</span>Draconic For Dummies: Volume II<span class="bracket">]</span></span></a> <ol><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Draconic_for_Dummies" title="Quest:Draconic for Dummies"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Draconic for Dummies</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike><ul><li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Love_Song_for_Narain" title="Quest:Love Song for Narain"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Love Song for Narain</span></a> - 10 reputation (optional, aids finishing Draconic for Dummies) </strike></li>
</ul></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:rAnS0m" title="Quest:rAnS0m"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">rAnS0m</span></a> - 10 reputation </strike></li>
<li><strike><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60G] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Decoy%21" title="Quest:Decoy!"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Decoy!</span></a> - 25 reputation </strike></li>
<li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Only_Prescription" title="Quest:The Only Prescription"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Only Prescription</span></a> - 150 reputation </li>
</ol></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Combat" title="Combat"><img alt="Combat" border="0" height="16" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090727064741/wowwiki/images/7/7e/Combat_15.gif" width="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Maws" title="Maws"><span class="ajaxttlink npclink">Maws</span></a> <ol><li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Good_News_and_The_Bad_News" title="Quest:The Good News and The Bad News"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Good News and The Bad News</span></a> - 250 reputation </li>
<li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60R] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Wrath_of_Neptulon" title="Quest:The Wrath of Neptulon"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Wrath of Neptulon</span></a> - 500 reputation </li>
</ol></li>
</ol></li>
</ul></li>
<li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:The_Might_of_Kalimdor" title="Quest:The Might of Kalimdor"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">The Might of Kalimdor</span></a> - 500 reputation </li>
<li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Bang_a_Gong%21" title="Quest:Bang a Gong!"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Bang a Gong!</span></a> - 500 reputation (only within the first 10 hours of opening the <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Gates_of_Ahn%27Qiraj" title="Gates of Ahn'Qiraj">Gates of Ahn'Qiraj</a>) </li>
<li><img alt="N" border="0" height="15" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050119191142/wowwiki/images/5/5f/Neutral_15.gif" width="17" /> [60] <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Quest:Treasure_of_the_Timeless_One" title="Quest:Treasure of the Timeless One"><span class="ajaxttlink questlink">Treasure of the Timeless One</span></a> - 500 reputation (after 10 hours)</li>
</ol>Why yes, I very clearly AM insane, thank you. For the record, I only need to grab Fox and have her soak a mind control so we can burn Dr. Weevil down, and then farm some Elementium, (easy enough, I have an open raid ID set up for it) and that's it.<br />
<br />
Elementium counter: 2/10. <br />
<br />
(The above excerpted from Wowwiki.)<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-62284519519043212182010-10-12T12:17:00.000-07:002010-10-12T12:21:52.342-07:00On big farewells:<div style="color: black;">Last night, just before the servers went down, Kirin Tor-H got together a bunch of trees, and started dancing the night away. It started over at the north bank in Dalaran, but eventually, we moved it all over to the fountain in the middle. I give you this screenshot: <span id="goog_853164900"></span><span id="goog_853164901"></span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TLSx7RKZxYI/AAAAAAAAACo/FcohyXIXihU/WoWScrnShot_101210_000101.jpg"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TLSx7RKZxYI/AAAAAAAAACo/FcohyXIXihU/s400/WoWScrnShot_101210_000101.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TLSx7RKZxYI/AAAAAAAAACo/FcohyXIXihU/s1600/WoWScrnShot_101210_000101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;">Obviously you should click to embiggen, but yeah, that's Bloodlusted trees, all the way around the fountain, both Alliance and Horde, popping one final Tranquility before we go poof.</div><br />
Now, again, I should state for the record that as far as changes go, I am neutral about this. Yes, it's rotten brocolli. At the same time, where is our Tree Form armor increase? They said they were going to roll the bonuses from Tree of Life into the spec, but unless they decided they were going to give a flat 150% armor boost to all pieces of spell leather, I don't see it anywhere.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;">Here's to a new era.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;">Here's to hoping they don't f&$! it all up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: left;">-BTC</div>BearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-63437210980643996252010-10-07T12:49:00.000-07:002010-10-07T12:51:56.464-07:00On terrible puns:Okay, I know that nobody out there reads my blog, but I'm going to pimp this anyhow:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.raidwarning.net/druid/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://raidwarning.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/druid300x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Yes, I love terrible puns. Yes, I also love the Raid Warning podcast. But the class roundtable special podcasts are particularly awesome, and you should all totally go listen when it goes down October 12th.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-43034048081836106312010-10-05T13:22:00.000-07:002010-10-05T13:23:27.062-07:00On a finalized tanking rotation and spec:So it's coming close to Cataclysm, and my usual druid tanking forecasting annoyances aside, I think we can finally put together some kind of tanking priority list.<br />
<br />
Since I generally tend to do The Hybrid Thing, here's the spec I've been throwing around lately: <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#0ZfMMfoubzrckMcu:0rMwziMc0">0/31/9 with one floater.</a><br />
<br />
I think it, as well as some of my glyph choices, could be tweaked significantly, especially since switching glyphs back and forth will be much easier. The fact of the matter remains though, that there is really no good 3rd bear tanking glyph, which is what I usually will be doing. Lemme break it down row by row:<br />
<br />
T1 Feral: Of the three talents, only Predatory Strikes is not hybrid, so we don't take it. The other two are both useful to us, and we need five points to get to T2, so we grab them all. The five-point requirement aside, maxing Furor will save us headaches down the line when we make our initial charges, as we will likely be using the redesigned <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=467">Thorns</a> spell on ourselves just before we shift to Bear and charge in. Since word is that it's not castable while in Bear or Cat form, we don't care about the glyph as a result, but it will definitely be used just before pulling despite its steep mana cost. Yes, 3/3 Furor is also wasted on a cat, since between the GCD afterward and haste increasing our energy regeneration, we likely will shoot from 66 to 90 or 95 energy before we can even do anything, but having to shift back and forth to get the rage required to Feral Charge will save some sanity. Feral Swiftness, free 4% dodge, 30% extra movespeed. Yaaaaaay.<br />
<br />
T2: Oh how I hate this tier so much.<br />
<br />
Infected Wounds is necessary as a tank. Primal Fury is necessary whether you tank or DPS. Fury Swipes is purely a DPS increase, but math right now says it's more useful to Cats because of their inherently faster swing timer. Feral Aggression is also valuable to both tanking and DPS. Since we're hybrid, we put points into everything except Fury Swipes.<br />
<br />
But why Feral Aggression? And why 2/2? Unlike Warriors, we are going to have to juggle both Lacerate and Feral Faerie Fire stacks on our tanking targets. We also don't have a Devastate to apply stacks of Faerie Fire/Sunder Armor for us as well. And given that it only stacks to three instead of five, I figure it's better to eat the extra talent point in Feral Aggression to save the many, many extra GCDs needed to apply that ONE last stack of Faerie Fire. As a result, in for a penny, in for a pound. This may pan out differently, though, since more classes are getting the major armor debuff, it may not be imperative for just us to handle it. No word on whether any one will overwrite the other, though. It would totally suck if you slapped a stack on a boss, only to have someone accidentally hit the wrong button and wipe it out, making you start over.<br />
<br />
T3: Get everything.<br />
<br />
Okay, so maybe it's not that cut and dry. King of the Jungle is necessary to DPS with, although whether or not we can get by with just 2/3 or 1/3 remains to be seen. Feral Charge is absolutely necessary, no contest. Thick Hide is necessary for tanking. But IFC/Stampede... well. The increased melee haste after a Bear Charge is interesting enough. It's not increasing haste rating, otherwise, you'd never see a Cat Charge ever again, but the way things are set up right now, I would say is a bit of a tossup. If you were a full-on Cat, I could see you Bear Charging in to take advantage of the immobilize and increased melee haste to throw out more white hits and proc more Fury Swipes. It's a LONG buff, relatively speaking, too. The damage on Ravage still needs to be shaken out, a bit though. If this becomes more attractive to Cats than Cat Charge + Ravage, something probably needs to be tweaked. As it stands, Stampede isn't *explicitly* necessary? But it's certainly very tasty. If you choose not to put points here, hold onto them until T5.<br />
<br />
T4: Leader of the Pack got it's Improved effect rolled right in, grab it. Brutal Impact is necessary as a tank, grab it. (We have a ranged interrupt now! Yay!) Nurturing Instinct is one of those spells that only helps if you have the time to shift out of form to take advantage of, (i.e., emergency Cat Tranquility) but since we're tanking most of the time, no-go.<br />
<br />
T5: Primal Madness: I don't see this as explicitly necessary for tanking or DPS. It's just one of those talents that boosts the top end damage. Survival Instincts is necessary as our Shield Wall. Natural Reaction is required as a tank. If you didn't take 2/2 Stampede earlier, you can grab 2/2 Endless Carnage here, which pads out the Rake, SR and Pulverize durations. Since physical bleeds aren't affected by haste, (no, you read that right. Bleeds aren't affected by haste.) this will primarily just make the rotation less tight.<br />
<br />
T6: Blood in the Water: Damn you for changing the name, Blizzard. ;_; Cat-only talent, also dead to us. Dead to us, I say! Rend and Tear gets maxed, as before. Pulverize.... I wish we didn't need to take Pulverize. I wish it were more like Devastate, were it refreshes instead of consumes. But alas, it is not to be. Necessary tanking tool, take it.<br />
<br />
T7: Berserk: Take it.<br />
<br />
Resto T1: Blessing of the Grove no longer buffs Rake damage, so that's one less thing we have to take. Naturalist is useless to us. Heart of the Wild is only three points, so what's left? Natural Shapeshifter. I'm not thrilled to have to take it, but since Thorns has a very steep mana cost, (35% of base) it helps take the sting away. On the plus side, it makes Master Shapeshifter (just one point) available, so.<br />
<br />
Resto T2: Hooray for Perseverance. 6% less spell damage will stack with the Effulgent Skyflare Diamond, bring that passive spell damage resist up to 8% Are we still going to be of the "we handle spell damage by having massive health pools" school? Probably not, since we now have a Shield Wall equivalent, so it remains to be seen how important it is. But less damage taken is always a good thing, so 3/3 that sucker. Drop a point into Master Shapeshifter while you're at it.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-47139794897469558772010-09-11T23:44:00.000-07:002010-09-15T21:17:57.495-07:00On Bucket Lists:Things to do before Cataclysm hits:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><strike>Complete Loremaster.</strike></li>
<li><strike>Get Raven Lord mount. </strike></li>
<li>Get Twenty-Five Tabards. </li>
<li>Get Insane in the Membrane.</li>
<ul><li>Bloodsail Admiral</li>
<li>Steamwheedle Cartel</li>
<li>Darkmoon Faire</li>
<li>Ravenholdt</li>
</ul>
<li>Get a rogue to level 60 to use for Insane in the Membrane.</li>
<li><strike>beat The Lich King like a rented mule.</strike></li>
<li><strike>Get a Venomhide Ravasaur.</strike></li>
<li>Run Zul'Gurub as many times as possible in order to try to get the mounts.</li>
<li>Finish out the holiday events for a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=44177">VPD</a>.</li>
<li>Get an Ulduar drake.</li>
<li>Farm up mats to sell once Cataclysm hits.</li>
<li><strike>Farm up a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=13379">Piccolo of the Flaming Fire</a> for the sake of <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/12/breakfast-topic-revenge-is-oh-so-sweet/">goldseller griefing.</a></strike></li>
<li>Farm up a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=17481">Deathcharger</a></li>
<li>Farm up a full set of Dungeon Set 1</li>
</ul> More to come...<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-39677076324718546152010-09-10T04:01:00.000-07:002010-09-12T17:55:51.963-07:00On /khaaaaaaaaan:Blizzard, you bastards, why did you have to change <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=80319">Nom Nom Nom</a> to something else?!<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-83174022067440432632010-09-04T01:14:00.001-07:002010-09-04T01:15:00.940-07:00On a new mission:Well, it's official. <a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/26560871177/zul-gurub-gone/">Zul'Gurub is going poof in Cataclysm</a>. Now I know what my new thing-to-do is.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-80257989292052114072010-08-28T15:41:00.000-07:002010-08-29T10:49:20.289-07:00On topics that change while you write:So I figured at some point, I should write some articles about actual Druid issues in general again. But let's face it, I can't bring myself to write about the stuff that's going on now, not when there are others who are still writing excellent articles about things like <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/08/24/managing-cooldowns/">tanking cooldowns</a>.<br />
<br />
(That, and it's kind of hard to hold a candle to the Big Bear, y'know?)<br />
<br />
So then I decided that I should look forward to druid tanking in Cataclysm. Specifically, cooldowns.<br />
<br />
Mechanically speaking... we really ARE becoming like Warriors. <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=61336">Survival Instincts</a> is becoming the bear's AND cat's Shield Wall, while <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=22842">Frenzied Regeneration</a> picks up the old Survival Instincts's effect in addition to its old regeneration effect. <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=22812">Barkskin</a>, thankfully, remains just the same. Skull Bash is Intervene + Gag Order. Bash is becoming Concussion Blow.<br />
<br />
My criticism of the druid tanking experience in general still holds, namely, that it is becoming incredibly close to Warrior-style tanking, that is, <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/02/26/shirts-weve-got-shirts/">tanking in the buff.</a> (An awesome shirt, by the way, even if it *is* a Night Elf. *rolls eyes*) Recent changes to the game bear this out as well, given that <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=779">Swipe</a> is no longer spammable, and the threat values of our attacks have been shuffled around. At this point, it appears that we will likely deal with trash packs as Warriors do now; <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=16979">Feral Charge</a> in, (Note the lack of an interrupt effect.) Swipe, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=77758">Thrash</a>, Demoralizing Roar, then tab-target around and <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=33745">Lacerate</a>, (Only stacks to three, now) Mangle, and <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=16857">Feral Faerie Fire</a>. (which is now a Sunder Armor effect. Both only stack to three.) The only appreciable difference is with the new changes to Maul/<a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/78/heroic-strike/">Heroic Strike</a>, (Maul hasn't gotten the tooltip updated to reflect the changes to it yet.) where we can no longer macro these in with every attack, and instead now save those abilities to burn off excess rage.<br />
<br />
For reference, the current Cataclysm Warrior setup is to Charge in, Shockwave, Thunderclap, Demoralizing Shout, then tab target around with Revenge, Shield Slam, and Devastate, using Heroic Strike or Cleave to burn excess rage. As I understand it, Warrior tanking is not fundamentally changing.<br />
<br />
I suppose homogenization is inevitable, really. Even as big a studio as Blizzard is, I really don't expect them to try and create two completely different tanking methodologies with two completely separate toolkits using the same energy source. It's a Herculean task of asinine proportions.<br />
<br />
But I still have a number of reservations about this setup.<br />
<br />
Namely, uptime. Between all of our abilities, in order to maintain the absolute maximum threat on a group, we need to, in no particular order:<br />
<br />
1) Keep 3 stacks of Lacerate going<br />
2) Keep Pulverize going<br />
3) Keep 3 stacks of Feral Faerie Fire going<br />
4) Keep Mangle up<br />
5) Possibly keep Thrash up, depending in how the numbers bear out.<br />
6) Keep Demoralizing Roar up<br />
<br />
Of particular contention is the difficulty of maintaining stacks of two abilities on multiple targets. Warriors only have the one to deal with, Sunder Armor, which not only is automatically applied with Devastate, but is neither consumed for any ability, and when glyphed, applies multiple stacks at once, or if a glyphed Sunder Armor is used, affects two targets at once. Sadly, the glyphs are purely speculation at this point, given that the new glyph system is not yet implemented, especially with the added tier of glyphs.<br />
<br />
<br />
It's pointless for me to complain about this, given that I don't have a beta key with which to test things and see just how difficult this task is going to be, but I do hope that the consumption effect of Pulverize is either changed into a "Adds a charge of Lacerate" a la Devastate, or "adds X seconds to the duration of Lacerate" or "refreshes Lacerate to its full duration".<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-59328030313755800952010-08-18T10:10:00.000-07:002010-09-04T01:15:24.935-07:00On deflation:Like taking an icepick to an inflatable bounce house, seriously.<br />
<br />
So, found this on WoW.com:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><b>Jason asked:</b><br />
<br />
<i>So ... I'm concerned about the guild achievements, in particular the 50,000 quest achievement. I've heard that any quests done prior to </i>Cataclysm<i> don't count towards that total. If that's true, then my guildies and I who earned Loremaster are looking like we're screwed. Also, can someone explain what's meant by the top 20 players in a guild being the only ones who count towards guild achievements? Is that based on guild rank or total achievement points? </i><br />
<br />
You might be misunderstanding what a guild achievement is. It isn't "if 20 people in your guild have Loremaster, your guild has the Loremaster achievement." While <i>you</i> might have an achievement for being in a group that kills Cho'gall, your <i>guild</i> has a separate achievement for killing Cho'gall in a raid where 20 or more people are from your guild. <br />
<br />
The top 20 earners count toward guild <i>advancement</i>, not achievements. Your guild can gain levels by people PvPing, killing bosses, doing quests, etc., and only the top 20 earners for the week will contribute to end-of-week XP gain. You also get guild XP for getting guild achievements, and Blizzard says it grants a "big chunk" of XP, so it feels good to get them.<br />
<br />
The quests you completed prior to <i>Cataclysm's</i> launch won't count toward your guild's total for the 50,000 quests achievement -- but that's so when the system becomes available, everyone will be on equal footing. Note how all of the achievements say "as a guild" in them, too. </blockquote>Dude. Top 20? And 50,000 quests? We don't *have* 20 active people in our guild. And let me tell you, doing Loremaster was the Worst. Thing. Ever. I mean, yes, I wanted the title, so I cheerfully made like a Korean and ground my way through them all, but Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick with Mary and Judas, but I do NOT want to do anything remotely even LIKE Loremaster again. Never again!<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-18074178002270227912010-08-11T10:11:00.000-07:002010-08-18T10:24:56.732-07:00On disappointment?You know, I don't often get excited about kill achievements. Especially when there's a pity buff ticking along in the background. Taking down The Lich King and, in effect "beating" WotLK was not very exciting for me, but everyone else in the guild seemed to have the jitters and immediately ran off to get celebratory alcohol. Me? Quite literally, I was more excited to finally make Anzu my bitch, or to get my Cenarion War Hippogryph than beating the Lich King, even if I *did* have to tank him after most everyone else was dead, so our DK and Mage could burn him for the last couple of percentage points. (Again! You may may remember my previous heroics in stepping in and tanking Sindragosa during a connection blip.)<br />
<br />
Oh well.<br />
<br />
Now, we move on to Ulduar, and knock out those hardmodes so we can get 310% speed mounts before the expansion hits, save everyone 5K gold. Again, not as excited for this, because you know that I am only ever going to use Swift Flight Form, anyways, although the extra speed boost will be nice. (Exceptions are given for when I feel like showing off with the Hippogryph. Did I mention how much of a druid-nerd I am?)<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-7465809883856157822010-08-09T03:05:00.000-07:002010-08-18T10:24:35.827-07:00On advertisingHooray, I got linked by <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/">John Patricelli!</a> You guys may have heard of him. He's kind of a big thing amongst Druid tanks. And we don't mind when he decides to go on a tirade, either. =3<br />
<br />
It's been a while since I've posted, obviously. Between a two-week break in raiding because people were getting burnt out, and the subsequent release of Starcraft II, things have been very quiet on the home front. Pretty much the only thing that stands between us and our shiny Kingslayer titles is <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=68980">Harvest Soul</a>. And then after that, we take a break from ICC, and go clear out our older raid achievements. Ulduar is first on the list, so we can get those shiny 310% speed mounts, and then who knows what we'll do from there. (Really, it's not like I ever use anything other than Swift Flight Form anyhow. The only mounts I ever have bound to my bars are SFF, my Mechano-hog, my Raven Lord (YES! I FINALLY GOT HIM AFTER A YEAR OF FARMING! (Woo! Parenthetical abuse!)) and my Cenarion Hippogryph. I just want the mount for the 310% speed.)<br />
<br />
Still steadily whacking away at achievements, though. Since I finished Loremaster, AND beat Anzu into submission, I've been looking for some new, overarching project to complete. <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=2336">Insane in the Membrane</a> is an option. <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1021">Twenty-Five Tabards</a>, en-route to <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1015">40 Exalted Reputations</a> is on the list as well. These are also on top of the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=3357">Venomhide Ravasaur</a> I'm doing daily. Since I just got exalted with Scryers as well, I'm inclined to start farming the materials needed to switch over the Aldor and get <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1205">Hero of Shattrath</a> as well. One of the other non-achievement things, that I mean to do as well is roll that second druid for Boomkin, but I've been inclined to hold off on that so I can try the new Mulgore and re-learn Cataclysm druid tanking from scratch. I've also been pondering letting out some slack on my altitis as well. There's an Arms/Prot warrior I've been meaning to make, as well, and a Frost DK that needs levelling from 70 to 80. I'm giving up on the priest as well. The cost-benefit for making a threadbot isn't worth it, seeing as Fox told me that the epic spellthreads are rep-earned, and therefore out of the reach of a level 65 profession-only alt. Oh right, and I need to make a rogue for that Insane in the Membrane too.<br />
<br />
....yeah, I've got a lot on my plate. Any suggestions?<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-53066792315548348622010-07-15T02:13:00.000-07:002010-07-15T02:14:13.138-07:00On REAL ID's fallout, a post-mortem:(...although really, calling it a "post-mortem" is like saying "Dracula is dead". He always comes back. =T)<br />
<br />
All in all, though, I'm not happy with Blizzard. Or Activision. Or any one of a giant nebulous "them".<br />
<br />
It's kind of hard for me to *not* hold everyone at Blizzard as accountable for this whole fiasco, partly because of the lack of information on what happened behind the scenes, and partly because all the CSRs, whether forum or phone-based, were all told to hold the company line.<br />
<br />
I'm not happy with Blizzard anymore. I mentioned in a previous post that I regarded Blizzard as the gold standard for a video game developer. It's cliche, but the magic is gone. It's like a studio exec deciding to axe Firefly. It's like LeBron leaving Cleveland for Florida. It's like Garrosh being a dick and pissing off people in Cataclysm. It's any semblence of "cool" that Blizzard might have once had has now evaporated. Just look at my Achievement points over to the right. I have invested a great deal of time and money into WoW. I was ready to keep telling Blizzard, "take my money, please" all the way through Cataclysm, as long as they kept giving me a great game to play every time that I logged in.<br />
<br />
I mean, quite literally, I was just about ready to give Blizzard my $55 dollars to transfer an old 80 from another server and faction change it. I had planned this out months ago, working up all the things I would need, by liquidating my now-abandoned guild's vault, and buying things in anticipation of reselling them Hordeside on Kirin Tor. Oh, and the things I bought. I picked up a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=50444">Rowan's Rifle of Silver Bullets</a> for 900 gold. I found an <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=18665">Eye of Shadow</a>. I bought cheapish ICC BoEs. I bought every single ToC recipe, most of the Ulduar recipes, gobs of Alliance-only pets (most of which consisted of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=8489">White Kittens</a>), every single Alliance-only Cooking recipe, stacks and stacks of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=19711">Hakkari Bijou</a>, and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=19698">Coins</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=30810">Sunfury Signets</a> to turn in for Scryer's rep, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=25802">Dreadfang Venom Sacs</a> to change to Aldor, and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=29425">Marks of Kil'jaden</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=30809">Sargeras</a> to pump that up quickly. I bought out <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=45912">Books of Glyph Mastery</a>, flasks, fish, gems, both cut and uncut, enchanting materials, and just before this whole thing blew up, I was starting to stockpile <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=49908">Primordial Saronites</a>. Basically, if it could be sold for a profit Kirin Tor-H, I was buying it in spades. And now all I'm left with is wasted effort, and goods that now sit in my bank and bags, rapidly depreciating in value.<br />
<br />
I don't want to reward Blizzard's stupidity on this issue. Again, there I go blaming the entire company again when it was probably just the work of a relatively small group of people.<br />
<br />
But man, I want to have *someone* to blame, and cast out.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-29088049802796817222010-07-13T02:15:00.000-07:002010-07-13T02:18:32.213-07:00On ....ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!:I think I'll let the headline do all the heavy lifting here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wow.com/2010/07/12/esrb-unintentionally-exposes-email-addresses-of-people-who-filed/"> ESRB unintentionally exposes email addresses of people who filed complaints over Blizzard's Real ID system</a><br />
<br />
ARE YOU GUYS FREAKING KIDDING ME?!<br />
<br />
I mean, seriously, now. I'm just glad that I filed my complaint using an email from <a href="http://mailinator.com/">mailinator.com</a><br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-80724880267698196822010-07-12T02:10:00.000-07:002010-07-12T02:10:23.131-07:00On hedging one's bets:Just a quick note here, because I sit in wait with bated breath. <a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25833934923/omen-of-clarity-in-cataclysm/">From His Crabbiness:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>If I had to guess, Omen of Clarity will be a trained ability. It's too useful to different kinds of druids. Even if you put it shallow in Resto, Feral wouldn't be able to benefit from it until very high level. <br />
<br />
But we'll see....</blockquote>Long story short: Talent trees REALLY AND TRULY TRIMMED this time around, "boring talents" turned into passives that are level-based, everyone picks a specialization, blah, blah, blah, you don't live under a rock like I do. =P<br />
<br />
But this brings up some very interesting ramifications. Hopefully if it *is* trained, it should help smooth low-level druid levelling, especially if, as has been hinted, that we will not have access to our second talent tree until something heinous like 70+. Assuming things stay relatively the same as they are now, missing Furor for 70+ levels is going to be an utter pain in the ass. At the same time, though, one wonders if we'll be able to delve far enough into Restoration to be able to pick up Naturalist for the +10% damage, or if that's getting streamlined into passives as well.<br />
<br />
Here's to hoping there's some tasty news that comes along later today!<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-48419542841138981532010-07-10T02:11:00.000-07:002010-07-10T02:11:00.386-07:00On retractions:<a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?sid=1&topicId=25968987278">Today, Blizzard co-founder Michael Morhaime walked Real ID back.</a><br />
<br />
Great, right?<br />
<br />
....not really. There are still too many things *wrong* with what they're doing. Like they're putting the cart in front of the horse.<br />
<br />
I wrote up a forum post in the same thread, maybe you've seen it, maybe not, but I'll cross-post it here, because I don't think I can explain my position any better than I did.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="">Thank you for your letter Mr. Morhaime. I feel that you've done right by the Battle.net community by putting the kibosh on things, even if the decision is only "at this time". <br />
<br />
That being said, I'm still very disappointed with what did happen. Blizzard was the gold standard to which I held other video game companies, always thoughtful, never impatient, and always listening to their playerbase. I can't help but feel betrayed when it seems that the first two of those were thrown out with the bathwater. <br />
<br />
I don't mind a greater Battle.net community. Community is good. But community doesn't happen when some force from the top brings down stone tablets with fifteen! *crash* Ten Commandments! and commands us that we have to be closer to each other. It just doesn't work that way. Community is the funny chatter in a PUG Heroic that leads to "Hey, can I friend you?". Community is the camaraderie that you get when your random PUG raid turns into a weekly ritual. Community is your guild, the people you can whine to when you go through four or five healers and tanks in a row in a H:HoR wipefest. <br />
<br />
So I'm thankful that you've taken our collective voice, and listened to it. <br />
<br />
Please listen again to what I, and others have to say. <br />
<br />
Real ID isn't the way forward. There are too many intrinsically *wrong* things about it. There *are* people that we know, cross-server and cross-game, that we know only by a screenname. We are good friends with those people. We might know the names of their cats, we might know that they live in their parents' basement, we might know that they raid better drunk than sober, or that they eat pizza with everything on it, and by god, I mean everything, and if you forget the anchovies again, there will be hell to pay. But in the end, we only know them by screenname, and that's all we want to share with them. We just want the ability to friend people, cross-server, cross-game, what-have-you, without having to share one's One True Name. (And that's not a joke, either. In the age of Google and Howmanyofme.com, and readily available background checking sites galore, having one's real name *does* give them power.) Given the rapidity with which poor Bashiok had his information found and collated, and I can understand if the official line is to deny that is his personal information, because it <b>is</b> a real danger, and a real risk. <br />
<br />
A community is frequently compared to a web, and the depth of the community is often compared to how strong that web is. Now, there *are* two ways to make a web, or community stronger. You can make the threads linking people together stronger, or you can let people make more connections with more people. And wouldn't you know it, the way nature takes its course, nature tends to favor the latter solution instead, making ever more intricate webs, and letting the individual people make their bonds together stronger as they see fit. <br />
<br />
What I'm trying to say is that Real ID is too binary. There's an "On" position, which lets you friend everyone, and tells EVERYONE who you are, and an "Off" position, which tells nobody who you are, but also traps you to your own server or game. There needs to be a middle ground, one where you can friend that funny person on another server, or your younger sister that's off at college, and the only time you ever see her online is on Bnet. I can't imagine the community at large getting angry with these kinds of greater community bonding. <br />
<br />
And the most important thing is, is that it's not Blizzard's choice to reveal our personal information. <br />
<br />
So give us the ability to use a unique "Gamertag"<wbr></wbr>. Link that gamertag to all our other profiles. Link it to all our WoW characters, even the ones under level 10. Make it so that no matter what we do, the rest of the community can see past any the disguises used by trolls, make them traceable to the community at large. <br />
<br />
Again, I want to thank you for listening, and for stepping in and walking things back. My relationship with Blizzard, one that I've had for a very long time, has taken a hit, a very severe one. <br />
<br />
Sincerely, <br />
<br />
Paona <br />
Kirin Tor-US-H </span></blockquote><br />
<blockquote>PS: <span class="">One more thing, and I feel that I should still get this off my chest. I am still *very* disappointed with the Real ID announcement. I meant it when I said that I felt Blizzard was the gold standard in the video game industry. </span><br />
<span class=""> </span><br />
<span class="">You can be sure that I will never take anything that Blizzard says at simple face value again, nor should anyone else. With such a drastic move with such blatant disregard for privacy, I feel that my intelligence has been insulted, that someone at either Activision or Blizzard said, "Oh, they'll think this is a GREAT idea!" </span><br />
<span class=""> </span><br />
<span class="">For now, I'll trust you again, but not until after I've verified. </span><br />
<span class=""> </span><br />
<span class="">Maybe not even until *after* I've verified</span></blockquote>-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-74631782299215355022010-07-07T17:46:00.001-07:002010-07-07T17:46:19.141-07:00On getting it in before it becomes old:SUFFER, MORTALS, AS YOUR PATHETIC SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES BETRAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAY YOU!<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-51978808648982354682010-07-07T03:49:00.000-07:002010-07-07T03:57:29.924-07:00On Real ID, and why what Blizzard is doing is a bad idea:The first rule of internet safety is to never use your real name.<br />
<br />
That's it. That's all I have to say about the new Real ID changes.<br />
<br />
This is the rule that was first drilled into me when I first started using the internet. When the heck did we stop teaching kids this?<br />
<br />
Oh wait, I know. It's because of social networking sites, like MySpace and Facebook.<br />
<br />
But that's not why I'm really mad. If Battle.net were supposed to be a social networking gaming site, then yes, I wouldn't be as... angry? No, too strong a word. Annoyed? Not strong enough...<br />
<br />
Let's settle with a facepalm and an "Oy." and go from here.<br />
<br />
The reason why I throw out Yiddish colloquialisms is because I didn't enter into an agreement with Blizzard, about this being a social networking site. If I'm going to sign up for a Facebook, I understand what I'm getting into, because I expressly desire to put my real name out there for people to find and communicate with me. But when I bought my Blizzard games and got a Battle.net account, I had no such intention. Whatever my original intention, the decision to sign up for a social networking site, has been taken out of my hands entirely.<br />
<br />
And for the record, I *hate* social networking. I think it's stupid and idiotic to plaster your name all over the internet. For pete's sake, potential employers do not need to find out that you frequent furry forums or see your spring break photos of you drinking shots out of some girl's cleavage.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you guys a hypothetical story.<br />
<br />
Let's say that at one point in time, a person who we will refer to as "A" did a presentation for one of their college courses. And let's say that during this presentation, this person asked for people to volunteer their names so that "A" could demonstrate the kinds of things that they could find on the internet from just using Google and their first and last name, and filling in information as they go. "A" would start with the name, and then include information like the college they were attending. "A" happened to find a mention in an article in the college's newspaper, as they were being interviewed, mentioning their high school. "A" might have gone on to find an old profile on a forum somewhere, finding not only their interests based on the contents of the forum, but also an email that matched several other places where that email address was used. And "A" might have also found different distinct usernames that were attatched to the email address, which in turn also led to more usernames, all the while taking note of this person's hobbies and personal information. "A" started culling bits and pieces of information from innocent blurbs on blog comments, and forum posts, starting to move on from hobbies, age, and location to more specific information. Where they lived. Who they lived with. What cell phone provider they had. Who they were going out with. Where they were going to be next Friday, and who should bring the beer.<br />
<br />
This information got more and more specific with each search, until this person demanded that "A" stop what they were doing, which "A" complied with and closed everything down.<br />
<br />
"A" recieved an A for their presentation<br />
<br />
That person just disappeared from school.<br />
<br />
I'll say it again. The first rule of being safe on the internet is to never use your real name.<br />
<br />
-BTCBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-46011622279062454842010-06-30T00:38:00.000-07:002010-06-30T00:38:26.102-07:00On that was not such a good idea after all:Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation.<br />
<br />
Oh, such a good idea in theory.<br />
<br />
Such a terrible idea in practice.<br />
<br />
In the post T9 level of itemization, you really do have to get back down to the 1-second GCD haste cap once again. There is no longer any ability to hover just above in order to take advantage of Rejuv crits.<br />
<br />
But now that I'm back down at the haste cap again.... Rejuvenation now only lasts a paltry 10 seconds. BARELY enough time to blanket a 5-man and still be able to cast Regrowth on the tank and Wild Growth everyone.<br />
<br />
So back to Nourish it is, for me.<br />
<br />
-BearTreeCatBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-24102492008518761032010-06-18T02:20:00.000-07:002010-06-18T02:22:45.455-07:00On Dun-dah-dun-tah~ *dons fedora*:Okay, so I don't own a Fedora. But I do own a flat cap! ....which would make me Shia Leboufoufoufoufouf. Goddamnit. And I would have chosen something more.... well, Heroic, but Iron Man, Captain Marvel and Captain America don't quite exactly have theme music. (Okay, Iron Man did, but I! AM! IRON MAN! over and over isn't my idea of "heroic".)<br />
<br />
No, I didn't take down the Lich King Heroic. Hell, we're still sorting out how best to do Phase 1 and manage the adds properly. But we did take down Sindragosa. So let me set the stage here. Co-tank-I-love-to-bits (Hereafter, I shall refer to as "Fox".) and I have gotten our Frost Resist gear all assembled. I actually have gone a little overkill, and am allegedly over the resist cap once one of our other paladins puts up Frost Resistance Aura. First three times, we wipe, getting back into the groove of things after having had Stuff come up for people the previous two weeks. (I should note: We completely trashed all 10 other bosses the night before.) The usual was happening. Extra people getting caught in ice tombs, extra people getting caught in ice tombs, people not watching the stacks of either the melee or the spell debuff, extra people getting caught in ice tombs, and killing the tombs too fast for stacks of Mystic Buffet to wear off. Oh, and extra people getting caught in ice tombs.<br />
<br />
So fourth try rolls around, and we transition into phase 3... and Fox disconnects from WoW. She's still on Vent, so she tells me that I need to get my fuzzy but into place and hold Sindy until she can get back in.<br />
<br />
Well, I did it. I started blowing everything I had, both offensive and defensive, in a last chance bid to hold the line until Fox got back. And I did it, too. And we succeeded. But just to give you an idea as to what I was up against (And click to embiggen):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBs1SApNg-I/AAAAAAAAAAs/l_dtBfT7asA/s1600/WoWScrnShot_061610_192454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBs1SApNg-I/AAAAAAAAAAs/l_dtBfT7asA/s320/WoWScrnShot_061610_192454.jpg" /></a></div>Yes, several of us did faceplant, but we *did* do it. And 23 stacks! I don't think you're ever supposed to *get* that many stacks! I think you're supposed to die before you even get that far!<br />
<br />
Point is, we rule, Sindy drools, and then we all stripped off our gear, started the Lich King fight, and punched him in the face a few times. TOTALLY WORTH IT.<br />
<br />
Next week!: We begin to bash our heads against The Lich King for four weeks! Just like Blood Princes all over again!<br />
<br />
-BearTreeCat<br />
<br />
P.S.: Here's an extra screenshot. Do observe the bottom-left-hand corner.:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBs6mpHKdmI/AAAAAAAAAA0/Dt6OYcqFdH0/s1600/WoWScrnShot_061610_192528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBs6mpHKdmI/AAAAAAAAAA0/Dt6OYcqFdH0/s640/WoWScrnShot_061610_192528.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>BearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-52335850577788178162010-06-14T20:52:00.000-07:002010-06-14T20:53:19.095-07:00On that ONE guy in the guild:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBb42IqSofI/AAAAAAAAAAU/UBqNqLSuCYM/s1600/GoddamnitDB001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZ32G35ss8A/TBb42IqSofI/AAAAAAAAAAU/UBqNqLSuCYM/s400/GoddamnitDB001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I think the image says it all. No respect! I get no respect!<br />
<br />
<br />
-BearTreeCatBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7596965318997468859.post-48983941467920359842010-06-12T01:44:00.000-07:002010-06-14T20:59:04.181-07:00XXWhen he is Raid Leader, he does not merely lead raids. He leads them on Broadway song and dance numbers, with loot.<br />
<br />
He mines Primordial Saronite.<br />
<br />
He escaped from Alcaz Island using nothing but a Sprung Whirlygig, a Minor Mana Potion, and an Ensidia Guild Tabard. But he always comes back to play poker with the guards every other Thursday.<br />
<br />
/gkicking him always backfires.<br />
<br />
He has read all of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=46023"><span class="q0">A Steamy Romance Novel: Northern Exposure</span></a>, and its sequels.<br />
<br />
There is only one druid that he cannot tame: Himself. Although if he tried, he probably could. <br />
<br />
He is: The Most Interesting Tauren in the World.<br />
<br />
"I don't always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=32668">Dos Ogris</a>."<br />
<br />
"Stay thirsty, my friends."<br />
<br />
(I blame <a href="http://needmorerage.blogspot.com/2010/06/xx.html">Ratters</a> and DB.)<br />
<br />
On the other hand, I smell a machinima project... <br />
<br />
-BearTreeCatBearTreeCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09322579071367903453noreply@blogger.com0