Best Laid Plans

Saerath earns the "A Test of Valor" achievement 

I'm a big fan of making plans, very in depth plans at that. I'm constantly making lists and outlining projects that I'd like to complete. The problem with making plans is you can't really plan for every contingency. I believe the saying goes, "No battle plan ever survives first contact." Which brings me to the reason for this post.

One Door Opens
     One of our tanks in my guild's progression group found out yesterday that he got a new job offer that he was planning on taking. While this was incredibly good news for him, it left our raid group with a potential problem. He will be working the graveyard shift once he starts the new job. Our raid nights are Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 PM to 12:00 PM, server time. There is a very good chance that his work schedule will conflict with our raid schedule.
     This means that I will most likely end up benching my Hunter in order to fill the vacant tank spot until we recruit another tank. I don't mind bringing my paladin in to tank, but I am really enjoying raiding on my Hunter. I've put in a lot of time and effort into getting him caught up to the rest of the raid team, in terms of gear. I was also looking forward to downing Garrosh on him, since we are 13/14 on 10-man normal.

Anthies helps Thrall escape from Durnholde in the Caverns of Time instance

Enter the Paladin
     In the event I do end up filling the tank spot, there may be a decline in Hunter related content here, but I promise it won't go away entirely. I may post some paladin stuff in the interim, but I do plan on keeping my Hunter as my main. I'll update as soon as I know something concrete regarding the switch. It will be nice to spend some time tanking again also. I personally feel that playing a tank helped me be a better DPS. I have more insight into what goes on during an encounter. Boss positioning, cooldown usage, and add control were things I never had to concern myself with as a DPS so I never gave it much thought. Now I try to assist in these duties on Saerath whenever possible. Whether it's using Misdirect to funnel adds to the boss during the Dark Shamans encounter in Siege, or taking out mines using Deterrence during the Iron Juggernaut encounter.

Vs

The Blog
     There are changes planned for the blog also. I realize I just started it, but I was just really excited to start writing again. I got my start on the Blogger platform, though it was known as BlogSpot back then. However, I feel that WordPress is a superior platform, and I will be moving the blog there in the near future.
     The problem with moving to WordPress is the site address that I want is currently taken. I had hoped to get shotsfired.wordpress.com, but it is taken already. As a result, I have to decide to change my blog name, or use a site address that doesn't match my blog title. I considered changing the title to One-Eyed Troll, due to my love of the Malefactor's Eyepatch that Saerath wears. I'm still on the fence about that one though. I am open to suggestions though, so don't hold back if you've got one.

     In closing I would like to say that I appreciate those of you that take the time to read my blog, and I hope you continue to do so. It is terrible luck on my part that I'm having to make changes so soon in my renewed blogging career, but if you are willing to come along for the ride, I'll try to make it worth your while. Happy hunting, and always respawn responsibly!


   

Just Wondering

I know I've stated that I write this blog mainly for myself, but at the same time I want people that read it to be entertained. So I was hoping I could get some feedback from those of you that read it on a regular basis. What would you like to see on the blog? More "How To" posts (I know I'm no BRK, but I know a trick or two), want to know what addons I swear by, my mother's maiden name, etc. I'm going to work on posting more as well, but the main reason I haven't is because I'm pretty sure reading about me doing daily quests and then going to bed would get old fast. Anyway...go crazy with the suggestions, invite your friends, and I'll see what I can do to make your stay a little more comfortable

UPDATES!

So it's 12:54 am and I have to work tomorrow, but I can't sleep due to the incredibly uncomfortable head cold I seem to have developed, so I figured I'd chug a few cups of green tea (antioxidants and what-not) and tweak the blog some. After about 20 minutes of searching I finally found the BRK blog about Favicons & iFrames and decided to give the iFrames thing a whirl. After inserting the html in about 15 different places and causing my blog to look like I did it in the dark...with a hammer...I finally found the proper location for the code and am hoping I can get the link right so that you'll actually see the window pop-up when you mouse over item links (I'm not currently planning on updating previous item links for the record). So here goes...

I went on a regular Botanica run to help a guildie get rep for her heroic key and Warp Splinter decided to part with his [Jagged Bark Pendant] Now to save the changes and check to see if it worked...brb IT WORKS!! Sort of. The pop-up window didn't go away when I moved the mouse away from the link
back to the editing window. Modified the code, testing in 3,2,1:

/grumble

That didn't fix it, why you ask, because I deleted a letter in the code. Double check your code kids, the life you save could be yours. Saving and checking again. It works!! This does, however mean that I have to start linking items from Allakhazam (wth decided to spell it like that anyway...seriously) because I'm not quite fluent enough to figure out how to do it using Thottbot, but hey...I rolled a hunter, I like a challenge.

I received a whisper from the guild raid leader asking if I was interested in raiding shortly after the run and replied that I was still in the process of upgrading gear to meet raiding requirements. Then I got a whisper from the hunter class leader asking the same question. I told her the same thing and she said that she was going to look over my armory profile and we'd discuss my gear/talent spec/schedule and see about getting me into Karahzan. She also informed me that she was happy to see that I had a desire to improve & took an active interest in wanting to raid. Hunters in my guild seem to be a bit lax in my opinion, but then again I think most of them are alts. SO! I might just get to venture back into Kara and get my hands on some more gear in the very near future! Stay tuned & go check out The Hunter's Den and let Galamar know what you think and see if you've got any advice for him, he's very gracious when it comes to accepting criticism (he takes it from me and I'm a nobody). Take care and happy hunting!!

Anthies: A Tribute

Antheis (pronounced an-the-es), has been my pet for quite sometime now, long enough for me to forget how long it's been anyway. We've seen some pretty amazing stuff together, from Netherspite to that 63 hunter we saw in Hellfire Peninsula wearing Herod's Shoulder (no joke) among various other lvl 40 items. We even got in a rather heated argument with our best friend about why he was my primary pet. I finally won the argument when I explained why I chose this particular pet and named him Anthies.

A long time ago there was a game much like WoW, only you couldn't play it on a computer. Come to think of it, I didn't even own a computer back then. This game was played using massive amounts of notebook paper, calculators, a stack of books that would crush a minivan and dice. Some of the older generations might know this game, for you young'uns it was called AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...go ahead and laugh, but it was still fun). Joey, a very good friend of mine, played a human warrior named, you guessed it, Anthies. Anthies suffered all kinds of misfortune at Joey's hands, yet he just wouldn't die, no matter what the DM threw at him. Joey unfortunately wasn't so lucky. About 2 years ago Joey was killed by a drunk driver a week before his 22nd birthday. He was like a brother to me and losing him devastated me and the rest of our circle of friends.

While questing in Terrokar Forest I recieved a quest to find and kill a wolf named Ironjaw. I tracked him down and immediately thought of Joey once I saw him. I'm not sure why, he just reminded me of him & Anthies. I killed him for the quest and then waited for him to respawn so I could tame him. I didn't use my normal trapping method of ice trapping then taming to avoid taking as much damage, because frankly Anthies never went quietly into anything, and after being reduced to about 25 hit points I got him and promptly named him. We've been together ever since.

He may not be the highest damaging pet, he may not be the coolest looking pet, but I think every time he gets a killing blow, Joey smiles and brags about how he is still the uberest gamer in history. He's just my way of immortalizing someone that changed my life, and the lives of everyone who came in contact with him, and I don't see him getting replaced any time soon...unless I can tame a dragonling...

Shameless Plug!

It's Patch Tuesday, and I'm still waiting for the servers to come back online...what fun. Blizzard added a Machinima page featuring a video by Brandon M. Dennis, also known to the Warcraft community as Oxhorn. It would seem Mr. Dennis is also a writer so I figured I'd show him some appreciation for all the laughs I got watching "Inventing Swear Words" and my son's favorite "ROFLMAO" by linking his blog for those who are interested. Please direct your attention to the underlined text riiight...here. Keep up the good work Oxhorn, you make Patch Tuesday worth suffering through!

Under Construction

I'm not happy with my hunter...plain & simple. I don't dominate the damage meters, my pet dies constantly, I'm pretty sure my spec is wrong, and theorycrafting makes my face hurt. I've gotten to the point where the only time I play my hunter is if someone in the guild needs a dps/CC for a 5 man and for Kara raids. When I do go to Kara I jump on the chance to give my spot to someone else because I feel they could do a better job than I could...and I'm usually right. I'm fairly certain that Aerislan needs a complete overhaul...gear, talents, everything. I have the basic hunter skills down, I can effectively CC in instances (except those damn spell shades in Kara), I can effectively manage my aggro so as not to give the tanks problems with me pulling mobs (this could be due to my lousy DPS), I know what is expected of me in raids and instances...The main problem I'm facing is the fact that most of the time I would rather play my shaman than log on my hunter and make an ass of myself. I helped a fellow hunter with a quest in in Hellfire Peninsula today (you remember Hellfire right?) and promptly got my ass handed to me by a lvl 63 elite...maybe I'm mistaken...but there really is no excuse for that...I've researched specs and tactics and so on until I was blue in the face yet nothing really seems to change. No matter what I do I always seem to be the lowest DPS on damage meters and therefore the least useful hunter in the guild. I get raid invited to raids for the simply fact that I know my class inside and out, but once it comes to the application of that information I fall short every time...to be perfectly honest I didn't even want to continue with this blog and almost deleted all my posts, but Mrs. B3 wouldn't let me. She thinks that by sharing my thoughts and opinions on my experiences I can get an insight I wouldn't have otherwise...I can only hope she's right. I know I can do better than I am currently...I've just got to figure out how...hell I'm even considering going BM like I was back when Green Whelp Armor was the creme de la creme (I know that isn't true...I just remember slobbering over it when I was lvl 10 and had it in my bank and didn't know better) Stay tuned and maybe I'll turn this thing around for the better...and get ready for some incessant questioning BRK...

Spotlight

Wow...I had hoped to attract a few people to my blog...maybe get a small semblance of a following, who knows even get a nod from one of the weblog celebrities, and I did! With my very first post no less. Granted the acknowledgment had nothing to do with the content of my first post, but even if it was just for the pic I posted with it, I still got noticed by the person who inspired me to start my own blog in the first place. I did however catch a bit of flack from his regulars about the pic, stating that it wasn't "mine" and that I stole it, but I didn't claim the pic as my own, and I'd like to go ahead and give credit to whomever it was that created it...unfortunately I have no idea who that person was so I can't officially name names or anything. If you're reading this DPS pic person...thanks for making an awesome pic and putting on the net for me to find. There, that should cover all the bases...btw if anyone wants to see the actual post you can find it here. Btw, if you happen to read this BRK...I still can't get my favicon to work even after removing .html from the link in my HTML file. Happy hunting to you all, and stay tuned for more ramblings

-Aerislan

In the Beginning...

I'm not entirely sure why I chose to start this blog, but it's started so I might as well introduce myself. I'm a lvl 70 NE Hunter on the Turaylon server (formerly of Uther). I have the good fortune to be a member of Reign, who in my humble opinion has some of the best players I've ever met. I started playing about 2 years ago and have been hooked ever since. Granted it took quite a bit of trial and error along the way, and by no means am I finished learning all there is to know about being a hunter, I feel I have a fairly decent amount of skill in playing a hunter. I never really got a chance to experience much of the end game content before TBC was released so I've been playing catch-up and making sure the same thing doesn't happen again. TBC in it's self changed the way I play dramatically. I suddenly had to learn crowd control, aggro management and various other hunter skills I'd never had been forced to use before just to survive as I started my grind from 60 to 70, and I'm grateful for the challenge TBC presented then and continues to present every time I log in. I would also like to tip my hat to those who came before me and continue to provide me with useful, and often humorous advice every day: Orz, BigRedKitty, Kayless, and countless others that have suffered my constant questioning as I struggled to improve myself along the way. Thanks for all the help and laughs guys. To avoid rambling any more than I already have I'll bring my first official blog to a close and looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences with you all and hopefully helping my fellow hunters learn a trick or two along the way. Happy Hunting!