You might recall back when I mentioned my video card dying. Since then I've received a few e-mails asking me how I knew? Perhaps that valuable piece of technology was salvageable?
Well, this was my first clue:
Doesn't seem like a card that plans on keeping its services enlisted.
Sure, I understand that Blizzard wants me to do a survey to let them know how the quest was.
But...
It's not secret that World of Warcraft has changed a great deal since the day it was released. Understandably, change can be a great thing! It can really bring a lot more people into the game world that we all share and love, but at what cost?
I remember when I first started playing WoW. I rolled an Undead Warrior and truth be told, I was a gigantic noob. But the game world was a very conducive one, and it put me in a position to succeed through figuring out game mechanics on my own. It seems like now players have their hands held all the way through the leveling portion of the game and truth be told, there are very few parts (other than the end game) that I would consider even mildly complicated.
This is most evident in the fact that now there are flight paths everywhere! Back in the days of my Undead Warrior I remember running to Camp Taurajo from the Crossroads every day! While at the time it seemed to be a bit of a hassle, looking back on it the experience was actually pretty neat. It allowed me a great opportunity to see the game world, and actually get a feeling for it's magnitude. When I got my mount it meant a lot more, and I really got a feeling of awe that I was really just one person in a world. Now it feels like a gigantic inconvenience to get my boots even the least bit dirty, because there are plenty of measures to make sure that I don't have to walk more than 50 yards out of any town.
What do you guys think? Am I just a ranter looking for the "gool ol' days" or do you think there's validity to my point?
To anyone that doesn't play a Rogue but wants to know a little bit about what we do, this is for you:
Rogues can come in all different shapes, sizes and specs. However, we all share a common goal: Kill sh*t and don't die.
We're a fickle group, really. We have one simple role in a group or raid setting, and we want to be put in a position where we can do it at our absolute best. For each one of you out there, I'll let you know how to do that.
Warriors: If you're fury, chances are good that you'll be keeping Battle Shout and/or Sunder Armor up. If so, good for you! You're doing your job, keep up the good work.
Druids: Be feral! We love the extra crit. (Really! That's it!)
Shaman: Don't worry Shaman, we're pretty understanding. If you're not Enhancement and can't give us Unleashed Rage, just be sure and give us Windfury if we're Combat Swords or Maces, or Grace of Air if we're any dagger build (Mutilate, Combat Daggers).
Tanks, just keep an eye out for us and position whatever mob that you might be keeping a handle on so that we can hit it from behind. Not a big stress for you, and in the end it'll help us out loads.
Healers, don't worry about us! If we get into trouble, we have plenty of ways to get out of it. Vanish, Evasion and Blind will buy us enough time to get safe, and allow the tank to pick up any of our slack.
Don't worry, we Rogues aren't the prima-donnas that we're often made out to be. The truth of the matter is, we're a group of players with a small toolbox, and many ways to use the tools within it. All that we ask is that if you're given the opportunity to help us out, do so. We'll reward the group that we share with a butt load of damage, and a sense of satisfaction.
Stay classy, Azeroth.
A big thanks to Blog Azeroth for the great shared topic!
Just a heads up to anyone that might be reading this:
Tonight my guild, Sacred of the Daggerspine server, downed the Eredar Twins!
Sadly, I was unable to make it (AGAIN!) because my video card died on me just yesterday. I suppose I'll have to try on M'uru to get immortalized on the front page.
Anyway, grats guys and gals, great work!
The Wrath of the Lich King Beta is amazing! I stayed up until 5am today playing it, and here I am awake and ready to keep going.
But, my time wasn't spent doing what I thought I'd be doing. I have my Rogue out there, ready to get level 80 -- but he's remained very dormant. Why? The answer is simple: the Death Knight.
My decision to play a Death Knight first wasn't an easy one. Afterall, when I first logged onto the beta servers I wasn't even allowed to make one (some how I'd reached the maximum number of characters that I could have on one account with a whopping two). I was also told that many of the new Rogue talents that I had planned on trying out weren't even working yet, so where's the fun in that?
After some time with a GM I was finally able to create a Death Knight and I must say, I was very surprised at how fun it is. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a Rogue at heart but if there was ever a class that would make me want to switch mains this is it.
I was able to make my way through the starting zone last night (this morning?), and I've got plenty of screenshots of the journey. I'll be getting them ready for your viewing pleasure as soon as I can.
Also, how would any of you feel if I did switch my main to a Death Knight come expansion? As of this very moment I'll be staying Rogue, but it's an idea that I've been playing with in my head. It's a very cool and exciting class to play.
I'd still bring you all the great community and personal information, only this time I'd theory craft with a Death Knight twist. Let me know how you feel in the comments.
Just as I was about to get ready to log on to get my raid on, I found this waiting in my inbox:
I hope to have some cool stuff from the beta for you guys soon!
/glee
Earlier today I was out on the Isle of Quel'Danas doing my daily quests and I couldn't help but wonder: "Why am I always doing these things?"
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of free money, and doing the dailies out there is about as close to it as I'll get in World of Warcraft, but how come these guys can't handle this stuff on their own?
The answer is simple: gross incompetence amongst all ranks of the Shattered Sun Offensive. It's a wonder that these self-proclaimed soldiers of the light have been able to prevent Kael'thas' efforts for as long as they have! I've found that many (if not all) of them are undertrained, under-motivated yokels that only look like they're doing something.
I understand that what I've just said might seem like a lofty accusation, but allow me a moment to present evidence.
While I was crossing the bridge between the Monument to the Fallen and the Sunwell Plateau I took notice of the many archers lined along the edge. "Cool!" I initially thought to myself, "it's not just me doing all the work out here!"
But I was about to be proven wrong.
As this archer drew her arrow at the Dawnblade forces she took a moment to aim. Upon firing, her arrow...
...did nothing. All that she managed to hit was the shrubbery surrounding the building that the Dawnblade forces were in, and occasionally the walkway.
My awareness of the Shattered Sun Offensive's incompetence only grew as the day continued. As I was doing my part to fight back the Burning Legion, this scene occurred: 
The peacekeeper is literally turning a blind eye! What's the big deal!? What kind of peacekeeping training did you receive? I wish I knew, because if I had money to hand out like these guys, and was still be able to do nothing all day, I'd be the first in line!
The fact of the matter is, the Shattered Sun Offensive is an organization riddled with inadequacy at every level. They are unable to do anything other than tell the citizens of Azeroth to do as they say, and not as they do. They are quick to throw money at their problems until they go away, and until they realize how to eliminate the problems that they have undertaken themselves, they will be nothing more than an Azerothian version of the Bush Administration (here's looking at you, kid).
[On a side note: Before this gets taken too seriously, know that it's just satire. Treat it that way!]
As a Rogue you have 1 role: Output as much DPS as you can without being a liability. On the surface this can sound pretty simple, but it's very easy to become a one.
Becoming a liability can consist of several different scenarios:
• You pull aggro from the tank, causing yourself (and possibly others) to die.
• You put Deadly Poison on a mob that has been CC'ed.
• You don't listen to directions on a boss fight (those of you that raid will understand the potential woes of interrupting Spirit Shock on the Reliquary of Souls encounter).
But to avoid these you can take simple steps to maximize your DPS output in smart and simple ways. Let's start with knowing some simple rules that every Rogue should know. I always raid by these, and they always end with sexy results.
1.) Know Your Rotations!
No matter what your PvE Spec is (Combat Swords/Daggers/Maces, Mutilate) there's a rotation that you should be following. These rotations will tell you exactly what abilities to use, and in what order, to do the most damage. These can always be found at Elitist Jerks. Don't be afraid to modify these on the fly either! If you get a huge string of Combat Potency procs you might end up topping out your energy.
Which leads me to...
2.) Never Let Your Energy Top Out!
A Rogue's Energy is a very sacred thing. It may seem like you have an unlimited amount, but over the course of a boss fight the amount is actually very limited. A boss fight only lasts a certain amount of time, so that means the amount of ticks you get are limited. Use them wisely!
If you get more Combat Potency procs than you'd anticipated, toss in an Envenom. For example:
I'm going all out DPS on Teron Gorefiend, and due to my Dragonspine Trophy and Mongoose on each of my weapons proccing, I've got a butt-load of haste, in turn I'm getting lots of Combat Potency procs. My Energy is close to topping off, but I've got 15 seconds left on Slice and Dice, a Rupture already going, three combo points and a full stack of Deadly Poison on him. An Envenom in this situation would be a great little boost to my DPS, and it won't hurt what I've already got going.
3.) Be as Close to Hit Capped as You Possibly Can! (Within Reason!)
This is a big one!
Having your hit capped as a Rogue will always, always be the number one reason for maximizing DPS.
Why? You might be asking, well the answer is simple:
Everything a Rogue does is based on a chance on hit: Mongoose, Combat Potency, [Dragonspine Trophy], [Warp-Spring Coil], [Madness of the Betrayer], Poisons -- EVERYTHING!
The more you hit, the more these things will happen. The more those things happen, the more damage you do! The hit cap is currently 363, and if you attain that bosses will have 0% chance to dodge.
But if you're a raider, you've got a different magic number and that's 308. With all of the raid buffs that you'll be given, such as Improved Faerie Fire from Boomkins, you'll be able to spend less of your gem slots on hit and more time gemming for crit or attack power. That decision lies with you (though, I prefer crit).
4.) You've Got Abilities - Use Them!
Rogues have some great ways to drop aggro so that they can keep doing heavy DPS through any situation, but the one that stands out is Vanish. In fact, if you think about it, because of Vanish you can use your cool downs (such as Adrenaline Rush or Blade Flurry) right away!
Let me explain:
The sooner you use an ability, the sooner it's off cool down. The more you can use an ability, the more damage you do. If your tank is any good by the time that you have an opportunity to get your first set of cool downs off and Vanish, you should be at least 75k-100k threat behind them, and you'll be able to keep pumping out as much damage as you want with no sweat off your brow.
Sounds simple? That's because it is! It's really not that difficult to adapt this to your boss fight strategies, and once you do you'll find that you'll be putting out a lot more damage, and at less cost to your raid.
I hope these tips help you out with some of the simpler parts of boosting your DPS. I'll soon be explaining exactly how each PvE DPS spec works, and exactly what you can do to make it work for you.
For those of you that don't know, GotFrag.com is covering the MLG World of Warcraft Pro Circuit in Orlando.
Check it out!
As many of you know, I'm a huge raider. But as fun and rewarding as an experience as this is, communication can often be a problem. People's voices can often be much louder, or quieter, and adjusting your volume for each individual person can be a pain.
It's for this reason that I'm passing on this guide to normalizing Ventrilo. It will make sure that every voice you hear is on the same level, and will prevent you headphone users out there from losing valuable cochlear hairs!
(This guide copy+pasted from About.com)
1. Go into Setup under the Voice tab, and on the right you will see settings for the input device. If you have DirectSound you will be able to check "Use DirectSound," which activates the "SFX" button in the corner.
2. Clicking "SFX" (short for Special Effects) brings up a window that lets you add and remove effects from Ventrilo. Adding "compressor" will open its Properties window.
There are 6 settings for the compression effect.
Gain 0
This can usually be left at 0, unless you're having difficulty hearing most of the people on the channel. Gain controls how much volume is sent to the compressor. Turning it up a little (10 or 15) may help, but turning it up a lot causes significant sound degradation.
Attack 0.01
Attack determines how quickly the effect is applied to the sound, in milliseconds, and can be turned down to the minimum of 0.01. The default is 10, which is also quite fast. The maximum of 500 creates an unpleasant half second delay before a loud incoming sound is adjusted.
Release 200 - 500
The length of time the compressor remains on after the sound has stopped is determined with the Release setting. The default of 200 milliseconds typically works, but some people turn this up to 500 or even 1000 (1 second).
Threshold -30
The level at or above which the compressor kicks in is the Threshold. -30 will make the quiet people a bit more audible, while still keeping the loud types from blasting you. This setting is measured in decibels, with 0 being very loud and -60 being very quiet.
Ratio 100
Ratio sets how much variation in volume remains after the compressor has done its job. Most people put this right up to 100 so there is as little variation in volume as possible. Although the default setting of 3 leaves some variation in, it also works.
Pre delay 4.0
This is a digital sound processor function that determines how far your system "looks ahead" for sounds that need adjustment, again in milliseconds. This is best left at the maximum of 4.
[Thanks About.com, have a good weekend everybody!]
Being a Rogue isn't as easy as it's cracked up to be. I know that when I first decided to roll one I assumed that I'd be getting a class where I'd just get to see big numbers, and I'd get to live by the raid DPS code: "kill sh*t and don't die." But I realized that there was a lot more to it than that, and there are some simple addons that I found to be the difference between being the guy that pulls aggro and causes a wipe, and being at the top of the meters. Now, while I'm sure many of you will be familiar with these, using them as a Rogue is vastly different from any other class (and best of all, they're extremely easy to install and use).
1.) Omen Threat Meter
I know, this sounds like a no-brainer. But I'm never surprised how rarely I see people using this -- especially Rogues. In a raid setting your job is to output the most DPS you possibly can without causing any extra headache for the tank or healers, and Omen will help you do just that.
Using Omen effectively will allow you to go all out in DPS right from the get go, if your tank is worth his salt chances are good that you'll have difficulty catching up to him. If you find yourself landing a string of crits, just Vanish. Generally by the time I pop Vanish I find myself roughly 75k - 100k threat behind the tank.
You can download Omen here.
2.) GRogue Ticker and Energy Watch
I realize that I've listed two addons here, but trust me when I say that they go together like AFK'ers and AV. You just can't have one without the other. Energy Watch and GRogue Ticker are my main focus when I'm dishing out raid DPS. GRogue Ticker will tell you just how many ticks of energy you have left until you can use an ability (you decide what abilities you want it to tell you about) and Energy Watch gives you a small bar to tell you how much longer until you get a tick of energy. These will greatly help you keep on track with your DPS rotations, and allow you to modify yours on the fly if you're not getting enough Combat Potency procs.
You can download GRogue Ticker here, and Energy Watch here.
3.) Scrolling Combat Text
I know that I'm not always able to watch my buff bar and see that my Slice And Dice is about to wear off, and occasionally I need a reminder. If you properly set up your Scrolling Combat Text to allow you to see when buffs wear off it can serve as a great reminder when you're in the middle of a heated boss fight.
It can also let you gauge your rotations better by knowing what procs. For example, if your Dragonspine Trophy procs, chances are pretty good that you'll be getting a few extra Combat Potency procs (you can set up SCT show you this as well) due to the extra haste, and you can afford to throw out a few more Sinister Strikes!
You can download Scrolling Combat Text here.
I hope these addons serve you as well as they've served me. I've been using all three of these since Karazhan and I wouldn't go anywhere without them (And for the last two, that also includes PvP)!
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