Oh yeah…

Song of the Post:  Black Sabbath – The Sign of the Southern Cross

Why hello again 🙂

Yeah I know, I haven’t logged an entry in a while.  I know you wanna beat me down to a bloody pulp for not keeping up with this blog.  But there has been some things going on!

First off bad news.  I STILL haven’t gotten my laptop yet :(.  I actually called them today to complain about how long it was taking.  They said 8-10 weeks from when I shipped it instead of 4-6.  The motherboard needed is still out of stock so they are waiting for it to come in.  It’s still one of the reasons I am being held back from playing.  Hopefully I can get it back soon.

Whenever I have gotten the laptop from my wife to play, it has been OK as far as logging in and wanting to play.  I have, and still kinda am, getting burned out from WoW.  However I have so many friends on my server that I want to keep playing just so I can stay in contact with them and play this game with them.  So that hasn’t really changed.  However the guild I am in has changed.  There hasn’t been as many people online to do 10 man raids and due to a player leaving the server, we decided to merge with the guild we had an alliance with before in our 25 mans. 

It’s not entirely the same guild as most of the main players left to form a new guild so they would have control.  Their old guild leader never logged on and if something wanted to be changed in the guild, they wouldn’t be able to since he never logged on.  So they formed Eye for an Eye.  So to the delight of their guild leader, who before even joining his old guild wanted us to either join our old guild or have us join him, finally got what he wanted.

For the most part everyone is happy with the new transition.  People who wanted to raid are now raiding and raids are scheduled.  My only concern right now is since we joined, their has been about 15-18 people signing up for the 10 man raids.  Certain people are getting left out and not everyone is getting into raids.  So I need to make a suggestion to the raid leaders to either make 2 10 man raids or concentrate on 25 man raiding since their numbers are going up.  Hopefully a solution will be made since I wont be able to communicate as much to the leadership.

Its definitely sad that we are no longer in Team Attractive.  Loved the name and loved the how well our group worked together.  But I think if we didn’t do anything soon, a lot of people would of ended up quitting the game or leaving the guild.  Its also hard going from being an officer/GM to just one of the guildies.  It was really nice having a council of officers and no GM.  But I think this will be for the better for everyone.  We will have to wait and see.

\m/

Wut?

Song of the Post:  Megadeth – Holy Wars

Nothing new :(.

Laptop is still in the shop and I have had limited time with WoW with my wife using the computer a lot.  I have only been able to log in twice this past week and I haven’t been able to do a whole lot due to lack of people online.  It is really sad that it has been like this, but at the same time it is a welcomed break like I had mentioned last time.  The only problem is, I haven’t really craved playing the game as of late.

I have been absorbed in playing Xbox games lately and I haven’t thought about logging onto WoW at all.  The only time was when there was going to be a possible Ulduar run, which of course did not happen again.  Honestly, I have lost interest in leveling alts and with dual specs has made me more interested in my druid again.  I have to hand it to Blizzard with how they implemented dual specs.  I love it!  It is so nice when I switch specs that I don’t have to rearrange my buttons on my action bars anymore.  Just one click on the dual spec tree and one click on Outfitter and I am good to go.

There is really only one thing though that has made me want to come back and play more.  My buddy from Virginia started playing WoW again and he is starting from scratch on another server.  He said that he is enjoying WoW so much now and having a blast.  It is weird because he used to play nothing but Xbox before and now both of our interests have switched.  So I have been thinking about rolling a character on his server and playing with him.  We shall see.

Our guild is going to try to plan a run again this week.  Hopefully we will actually have enough people to do something for a change.  Only time will tell.

Action Jackson Has No Action :(

Song of the Post:  In Flames – Bullet Ride

I finally got the patch updated on my wife’s computer, but I still haven’t seen the inside of Ulduar yet.

It has been really hard since I have no computer.  My wife and I basically share her laptop now and she likes to be on it a lot, so I get very limited time with it.  So being the gamer that I am, I can’t just not play anything!  So I have been playing a lot of Xbox games that I have been meaning to catch up with and it has actually be refreshing.  For 4 years, 90% of my gaming time is with WoW and the other 10% is either the Xbox, Wii or whatever else I am into at the time.  I was tossing around the idea of completely quitting WoW, but I actually like this new set up.  Splitting up my time between other gaming outlets has actually helped keep my desire to play WoW.  I don’t feel as burned out as I used to.  Of course not having my lapout helps my desire since, with most people, once you don’t have access to something, you want it more!

I was able to log into the game on Saturday night though.  I set up my hunter and druid with their new specs, installed mods that my wife doesn’t use and bought dual spec for my druid. 

“Wait!  I thought your hunter was your main?!  Why didn’t you give him dual spec?!”

A few reasons actually.  I thought it made more sense for the time being that my druid should have it since he can changes roles significantly as opposed to my hunter where I could go from my DPS spec to my…DPS spec :-P.  The other reason is that it is possible that I maybe bring my druid to Ulduar when we start running it.  We maybe short on tanks or possibly need 3 healers this time instead of two.  But all of that is going to depend on group makeup.  So we shall see how it goes.

One of the main reasons I logged on Saturday was that we were possibly going to see the inside of Ulduar.  I was pretty pumped since my wife was going to be gone for the night so I was going to have the computer all night.  Once I got everything set up and looked to see who was on, there were only 4 raiders online.  I was sad, but I figured we could at least do a 5 man since I wanted to try either tanking with the new Savage Defense or Survival with Black Arrow and see what that is about.  I called up one of my buddies to get online and we headed to Halls of Lightning with my Hunter.

I tried Survival pre 3.1 and had mixed results with it.  It is definitely the highest DPS spec, but watching for procs really annoys me.  I would rather have control of all the stuff I can do and not rely on the RNG.  I think that is why I really like the Marksman tree because its all shots and I just have to know when the cooldown is up.  But here is what I noticed so far with Survival:

• Lock and Loaded doesn’t seem to proc as much anymore.  Maybe I wasn’t paying attention as much on this run, but I didn’t see it a whole lot
• Black Arrow is pretty cool, except its on a 24 hour cooldown.  I found that trying to use this spell on trash is a no go.
• Seemed like I was doing about the same amount of damage pre 3.1.  The second boss we did, I ended up with 3100 DPS.
• Sniper Training was something I wasnt sure of at first, but after seeing it in action, definitely an awesome talent to pick up
• Maybe I am just used to Marksman and even though I had replenishment up all the time, I seemed to be running out of mana quick.  Maybe its the way I am playing, but I will have to try out Marksman at some point to see if there are differences.

We were able to complete the run in 35 min, which is pretty damn quick!  After we completed that, I logged off and told them to call me if more people showed up.  I did not hear back from them, so no Ulduar for me :(.  Maybe sometime this week we can get in there.

Laptop update:  Its at the manufactuer.  I forgot to ask them how long it was going to take, so hopefully it wont be longer than a week.  We shall see.

ASUS Laptops Suck!!

Song of the Post:  Minibosses – Punchout

So I haven’t posted anything because my laptop is in the shop :(.

I didn’t realize how much I would miss it.  I do so much on the computer nowadays that I feel like I am walking out of the house with my butt cheeks hangin’ out.  That’s really bad imagery.  Unless you are my wife of course :).

Anyways it of course had to happen when the patch hit.  I came home for lunch like I usually do and figured I would get a head start on the patch download since it always seems like it takes forever to download for me.  I turn on the computer, I hear all the normal sounds it makes, but no picture.  I frowned.  I pouted.  I called ASUS.  They told me my graphics card was bad.  I frowned.  I pouted.  I wept.

So for the immediate future, I won’t be able to play.  Well sort of.  I could borrow my wife’s computer and play if she isn’t using it.  Only problem:  she uses her computer all the time.  I frown.  I pout.  I turn to my Xbox for comfort.  Oh how you comfort me so…ahem.  Excuse me while I cover myself up…

So I have no idea what the new patch is like and its unfortunate.  Most of my guild isn’t playing that much and waiting for the patch.  I have told most of them I am gonna be M.I.A.  Don’t know if they will be able to fill a raid, but I hope they do so the guild continues to progress. 

And I will leave you with this link to a video my friend sent me…hilarious!  Don’t let this happen to you on the job!

The Tank has Returned!

Song of the Post:  Mors Principium Est -The Unborn

So not a whole lot of WoW going on lately, except that Loupe has been resurrected…

Sort of anyway.  Our guild is still having problems with getting people on for raiding due to the drama from a couple of weeks ago and lack of interest.  I have been trying to level up my Death Knight to make him a tank for some alt runs.  On Friday night, there was enough to do a heroic and most of the people that were going were on their alts.  None of them had a tanking alt, so I told them I would go on my druid and tank.

I was very fearful going into this run.  Ever since I switched my druid to a healer in WOTLK and eventually switching to my hunter, I had not done a whole lot of tanking in this expansion.  I had previously did it twice and both were very bad experiences.  I told my guild previously that I did not want to tank with my druid and after the run on Friday, I have changes my tune :-P.

I had a blast tanking Nexus.  I was able to maintain aggro and we did not wipe once while we were in there.  I had to leave early due to needing to wake up early the next day, but I felt really good after I left and wanted more.  I was one of the main tanks back in BC and it felt like old times being in there tanking again.

So now comes Sunday night.  We had 9 people on to do a possible Naxx run.  about half of the guildies wanted to bring their alts and the officers said “Why not?”  So it turned into an alt run with my druid being one of the tanks.  It took a little while due to having 9 people with mostly undergeared alts, but there was some tanking highlights for me.  The first one was during the Heigan fight.  We had wiped a few times previously due to trying to figure out our different roles for this fight and doing the dance.  During our kill attempt, our main tank went down.  I immediately switched to bear real quick, established aggro, and attempted to figure out the positioning for the four sections right on the spot.  I was successful and we took him down on that try.  I was definitely sweating bullets (Smile with Black Tooth Grin!) and feeling the pressure, but it was well worth it.  The same thing pretty much happened on the Maxxeana fight.  The main tank went down again, I was able to pick him up for the last 20% and killed her.  It was great fun and I can’t wait to do it again.

Now my problem is, do I use my druid, or use the DK?  I still don’t know what to do.  But then again, that’s how my WoW career has been, indecisive.

No More Sad News Please!!!

Song of the Post: Megadeth – Hanger 18

I was hoping to write up something a bit more positive today, but I gotta write whats on my mind.

So it looks like one of my best friends and my brother are deciding to put the game down.  They are both pretty much just bored of the game and want to do other stuff.  I can’t blame them since they have been playing this game for as long as I have.  Its just not going to be the same without them playing this game :(.

I play this game to play with my friends.  Hopefully this does not become a trend and more of my friends leave.

Don’t really know much else to say about it.  I just needed to get it out of my system in some form.  But its not like I am never gonna talk to them again or something :-P.

In WoW news, we are gonna raid tonight.  Hopefully we can get some stuff done and either do 3D Sarth 10 man or 25 man Sarth.

Peace.

\m/

The Hunter

The Hunter

(in the tune of The Trooper by Iron Maiden)

Verse 1:

We are at the boss and it’s time to fight

Arrows are prepped to begin their flight

The boss is not ready for this next attack

We make are stand there is no turning back

 

The boss charges the fight begins

On this battlefield, we will win!

With our tanks and heals and DPS

We will surely beat him to death

 

Chorus:

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO

 

Verse 2:

The battle rages on, we’re losing ground

Moral is faint as he pounds us down

A tank has died to a fatal blow

The healer’s mana is so very low

 

The light is dim on this final boss

This could become such a tragic loss

But the dim light becomes brighter

Out emerges the guild’s hunter

 

Chorus:

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO

 

Verse 3:

The hunter yells out “It’s time to die!”

And sends his pet into claw and bite

His shots sored into the bosses chest

Would this be the end at last?

 

The boss began to fall to his death

Crashing down and blew his last breath

The raid then began to said in cheer

Time to buy this hunter a nice cold beer!

 

Chorus:

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO

OOOOoooOOoooOOoooOOooO 

M.I.A.

Song of the Post:  Amon Amarth – Guardians of Asgard

I have been M.I.A. for a while.  There has been a lot going on lately in game and out, so I have a lot to talk about!

In my quick update, I mentioned I was dealing with some guild drama.  It looks to be solved right now and I am glad it is done and over with.  We had 2 guildies that we were having problems with two different issues.  We will give them the names Bob and Tom (no relation to the radio show :-P). 

Bob was one of our tanks and was a really good player.  He came into our guild a couple of months before Wrath came out and was a neighbor to one of our friends.  He is Mr. Achieveables (or achievements)  and is obsessed with trying to get them all.  Now if that is what someone wants to do with their playing time, that’s fine.  You are paying for this game, so do what you want.  However, when Bob came into the guild, we told him that we are casual and raid whenever we get the people on.  We are not interested in maxing out, just do the raids and have fun and that we are not interested in expanding.  We just want to play with our RL friends. 

Well since we have cleared everything except for 3D sarth, he has been pushing to do achievements related to these instances.  The majority of us don’t really care to do them and, for example, do not want to tell 2 people that they have to sit out of a raid because someone wants to do 8 man Naxx.  He also attempted to try and convince the officers of the guild to merger with the guild that we had an alliance with and were doing 25 man raids with.  None of us wanted that because we wanted to keep our tight knit group and we did not feel the need that a merger was necessary.  After all of that, he decides to try and schedule “hard runs” without telling anyone and inviting only certain people.  This made the officers angry and trying to pull people from the guild without talking it over with everyone was not cool.  So after telling him that we were not happy about this, the next day he quits the guild.  I have no hard feelings about it and wish him luck with the guild we have an alliance with.  It was clear that he wanted more out of the game then we did, so it is for the best I think that he moved on.

Now Tom is the person that I had the big issue with.  He came into the before Bob did, but unlike Bob, he was a new player and a friend of a friend of someone in the guild that doesn’t play anymore.  He eventually leveled him to 80 after we had Naxx on farm and was asking about trying out raiding.  We said of course and had him on a few runs.  After those few runs, I noticed something about him that started to bother me.  His attitude.  If something went wrong during the run, he would start getting very angry at a screw.  In particular, he would do this on our 25 man raids with the other guild.  I had talked to him once before that he needed to calm down and that it is just a game.  We are gonna wipe sometimes. However Tom did not make any improvements and continued to be an asshat. 

The way we handled the next course of actions, I was not too proud of myself for.  But the next day after he blew up at one of the officers was the last straw.  We just gkicked him, telling him in guild chat that he was no longer needed and that his attitude had not improved.  We did not give him any chance to respond and started cheering while we were in vent.  It was after talking with one of the officers that we handled that situation very poorly.  Very immature to say the least.  So after a few days to where I could collect my thoughts, I talked to him about why we kicked him and he was able to tell me how he felt and thats all he wanted was someone to talk to.  He was thinking about leaving anyways knowing that he wasnt a great fit for our guild.  So at least it ended nicely between him and I.

Which leads me to why I haven’t been post a whole lot lately.  The whole situation above really dread playing the game and did not want to log on at all.  I was seriously thinking about cancelling my account thinking about the last 4 years of playing this game.  The fact that, I have been playing this game for so long!  But I think in the end, I just needed to take a break.  I had been playing way too much and neglecting things I could do in real life like, hangout with my wife and my friends.  So I have been cutting back a bit and leveling up my death knight.  Right now he is level 75 and I have been blowing through these levels, averaging about 4 hours a level.

With cutting back on my playing time, maybe I will have more time to actually write in this blog too :-P.

Blah…

Song of the Post:  Arch Enemy – Burning Angel

Just wanted to post something real quick since I have not posted in a while.  Lots of RL stuff getting in the way of writing and playing WoW.  On top of that there has been some major drama in my guild that I will address in a later post.  But right now nothing interesting is happening in WoW as far as progression.  I did get the Arrowsong from Patchwerk 25 last week which was nice!!!

Anyways more later…

Leading the Charge

Song of the Post:  Dream Theater – Panic Attack

Raid Leader.

I had never pictured myself in this role.  Ever since I started raiding when my mage hit 60, I assumed that for as long as I play this game, I would just show up, play my role and have some fun. 

Currently in Team Attractive, we don’t have a guild leader.  We basically have about 5-6 of us that share leadership and run the guild.  One of these officers usually got the raids together, led our raids and distributed loot.  He has been on hiatus as of late due to real life issues and like I had posted previously, we had a hard time getting raids together due to him not being around and the fact that he was one of our main healers.  A few people were very frustrated with the lack of raiding and not being able to clear everything in a week and morale was pretty low.

I guess around this time is when I took charge.  We didn’t know when our former raid leader would be back and we needed to raid.  So I sat my hunter out and brought in Loupe to heal while we waited for either the raid leader to come back or another guildie that wanted to heal got to 80.  So far I have actually enjoyed myself trying to lead our raid to victory in Naxx, Malygos and Sarth. 

We will see how it goes from here on out.

In other news, Lorkey has dropped skinning and picked up Enchanting.  I already have enchanting on Loupe, but with only having one person with enchanting that runs raids, we need at least two mains with enchanting so we can DE anything that no one wants.  Plus the extra 64 AP will be very nice! :).  With this change, I will eventually drop enchanting on Loupe and pick up something else.  I am thinking about picking up herbalism so I can give Lorkey another crafting profession, not sure what though.

\m/