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!


   

So That's What Gruul Looks Like...

In case you haven't already figured it out, I went on my first Gruul's Lair raid last night. Nothing really exciting happened, unless you count me getting my tier 4 shoulders, which coincidently is also the first piece of tier anything I've ever gotten. It was awesome, I was a little confuse on the Maulgar pull because I've never had to hold aggro on a mob while everyone else was alive, but thanks to my awesome class leader and fellow hunters all was explained and we killed him and his lackeys. Gruul's was a very fun fight, had 2 wipes and downed him on the third try with only 2 or 3 deaths i think. Here's a pic of me in my super uber new shoulders:

Random Updates

The most notable of these being my recent respec. Before you crucify me or try to pull my hunter license, remember it's my character and I'll spec as I please. I am more than willing to accept constructive criticism, but I'll happily delete any comments along the lines of, "You're a freaking retard, that spec is stupid!", and so on. Now on with the post! I've decided to give this spec a try to see if it increases my functionality in a raiding situation. If it doesn't I'll respec again. If it does, I'll keep it for awhile. No other really exciting changes, Temoa is almost level 40 and I've made another hunter, Kreiger. I plan to level my new dwarf hunter full BM just to see how much different it is than leveling a MM hunter. So far so good, he's only level 8 at the moment, but I've been busy with raiding, dailies and such.

On an entirely different note, I'd like to highlight a very interesting Blog I've been reading as of late. Saber Squadron, is about a team of hunters being 5-boxed by 1 person. The blog chronicles their advancement from level 1, as well as techniques and other info on how to multi-box multiple characters. Interesting stuff, and something I don't think I could ever do. Check it out if you get a chance.

That about sums it up, I'll post again when I have more to report. Until then, take care and happy hunting!

Karazhan: The Return

So I'm running around Netherstorm doing quests for gold (that [Swift Red Gryphon] isn't going to pay for itself you know) when I get a /w from the Raid Leader asking if I wanted to go to Karazhan. I informed him that I did not have the necessary consumables (if you'd like to know what I consider necessary post a comment and I'll post a list of what I take to raids), and he assured me that they could make an exception this once and he sent me an invite. WOOT! I'm back in Kara!! Bring on the purples!!

/dancecheeromgwtfbbq

We clear the trash to Attumen without a hitch, and down him without a problem. One of our tanks got the [Vambraces of Courage] that he had been after for quite some time, and I don't recall what the other drop was, pretty sure it was druid leather. Moving on...We clear to Moroes and set up to start the fight. The strategy we use is to keep 2 of the 4 adds CCed until Moroes is down, and kill the other 2. This means that the fight is very dependent on the hunter's ability to keep his/her target chain trapped & the priest to keep his/her target shackled. Do not make the mistake of assuming everyone in your raid understands the mechanics of chain trapping. After 2 pulls I had to explain to the tank that I needed to know at least 30 secs before the pull was to take place so that I would have enough time to lay my first trap and let the CD tick long enough to allow me to place my second trap before the first one expired. Once we got everyone on the same page the third pull was significantly better, but by no means perfect. I'm not sure what caused it, but my traps were being broken, thus taking away the time I needed between CD's to chain trap. My 2nd trap broke after about 10 seconds, leaving about 10 seconds of CD before I could place my next trap. I managed to Scatter Shot and buy myself the time needed to place another trap. 3rd trap breaks early and now my trap & scatter shot are both on CD, forcing me to kite him until one of my CD's finish. I managed to get a trap off right before dying and trapped him. Once that trap expired a tank picked up my mob and they finished the fight without another casualty. I still felt as though I had done a poor job of CCing, but was happy that they managed to down Moroes. [Idol of the Avian Heart] & [Moroes' Lucky Pocket Watch] dropped, priest took the idol and I think the watch was DE'd as all the tanks had it already. Next came Maiden, wiped on the first attempt downed her on the second. There was a rather heated argument over a pair of cloth bracers that dropped, but I was in the kitchen getting something to drink so I missed the bulk of it. We moved onto the Opera event and got Oz. I prayed for [Legacy] to drop, but was denied. We one shotted the event and received [Ruby Slippers] and some leather legs...We killed the philanthropists for some gold to ease the cost of repairs and called it a night...aside from the Moroes incident I don't think I did too bad. I'm hoping next time goes much better though. Take care and happy hunting!

Ready Check

"(insert Tank/Raid Leader name here) has initiated a ready check." Click "Yes" maul the mob and raid progresses...sometimes. Sometimes you click "yes" to the ready check knowing damn good and well you aren't ready because you are too busy laughing about something in vent or you have ADD or your grandmother's third cousins aunts dog threw up on the carpet...and you wind up the laughing stock of the raid. There is a a silver lining however...say for instance your ego is just out of control and you need to get it in check...go to Kara with only 9k hp's raid buffed and stand next to the tank when nightbane lands for his initial assault...when you get 1-shotted and are sitting there staring at your release window wondering wtf just happened...rememeber all those times you thought you were the smartest person alive...you will never have a problem controlling your ego ever again...period...unless you are just an ass. Then there is no help for you.