When the lfg system isn't enough...

Back in the day, which was a wednesday, btw, when you wanted to find a group you searched in trade chat, or in the local zone where you were. You found dps quickly, then struggled to pull in a tank and a healer as well. Then the party attempted to figure out who was going to go to the actual dungeon to summon people there. Nobody wanted to do it. Usually, by the time the group was formed and everyone was summoned, somebody would key in with a helpful "guys, I gotta go soon, so lets hurry." The group would then be rushed to try and complete BRD, and would wipe. Somebody would inevitably get lost running back from the graveyard-usually the guy who just HAD to be summoned. The group would then be demolished.

The whole process was rather time consuming, annoying, and tedious.

Blizzard then saw fit to introduce the lfg system, and all our problems were solved. Mostly.



*sigh* But Blizzard did manage to sort through those issues, and the lfg system is, from my perspective, a huge success. As a healer and a tank, I am able to find a group quickly by using it. Yeah, yeah, insert dps qq right here. Whatever.

At least, I thought it was whatever. Then, I started getting these lovely little tells from random people:

...wtf? Dude. I'm busy. Questing, AH-ing, Filing my nails. Whatever. Does it really matter? If I wanted to be in a group, I would be, by merely clicking the join queue button and blinking. Why would I even dream of grouping with somebody too lazy or stupid to use the lfg system? And thank you for fitting your huntard stereotype.

I suppose I can sympathize with people who don't wan't to be stuck with a bunch of randoms. PUGs suck, there's no denying that. But /who-ing to try to get a group is no better. If you're really that sick of the groups you get with the lfg system, consider using your guild. At the very least, please annoy only people in your friends list who have approved you to annoy them. If all else fails.... do quests. Amazingly enough, you can actually get xp from those. (who knew?!)

Random Blue Post

First of all, I am blown away by the detail put into the underwater zones, but I got a chuckle out of the new Whale Shark mobs swimming around. I love the way they look, but they have one major flaw. Someone must have goofed and started with a “whale” skeleton instead of a “shark” one and used the whale animations, because they swim with the up-and-down motion of the in game whales. Not the (correct) side-to-side motion of a shark. Anyone else sit there gawking at them and wondering how in the world that got by the QC department? I laughed.

 

Whale Shark has asked me to let you know that it is displeased by your tone, and to deliver the following message:

Whale Shark is the devourer of the slow moving and inattentive. This includes plankton, whales, and AFK players.

Whale Shark swims where and how it pleases. Whale Shark /spits on your science.

Cata Dungeon Locations

With the cata expansion, we have new dungeons to jump in and grind for reputation.
or... maybe.
Now you are required to find said dungeons before you can queue for them. I have provided a nice little link that gives directions and screenshots:
http://www.projectcwal.com/wow/cataclysm-dungeon-entrance-locations/

Lets do this shiit!

Aight Blizz. I've got the rest of the week off work. I've got my scooby snacks. I've got my tasty drinks and my energy potions. I have pee'd already. I've even removed my pantz for maximum comfort.

BRING IT ON!!!

Multi-Boxing

I've seen a few multi-boxers before. Wearing the same outfits and gear, all stacked up so closely it almost appears your video card is having a minor glitch. But until now, I've never seen them anywhere except out and about, in town or out questing.

This weekend, I ran into a group that had a multi-boxer playing three toons. Normally, I see shammy's, but this was three boomchickens. I'm gonna be honest, I was a bit aprehensive when I saw that. It's all fine and dandy for a multi-boxer to be out doing their own thing, but I'm not entirely confident in their ability to effectively dungeon with other people. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them, and am all for them doing what they do. However, some dungeons require versatility, flexability, and the use of utility abilities. You need to be able to move, maintain control of mobs, watch agro, respond to buffs and debuffs, etc. All of that needs to be done in realtime, without pause. A single person controlling a single toon is more than capable of doing all those and more. But a single person controlling more than one toon becomes more limited in what they can effectively do.

I will admit, I have never tried multiboxing. I may be missing the perspective necessary to put out a complete and thorough argument. But it's simply my belief that they're not as capable as they could be.

Moving on. This weekend, I ran into my first pug that had a multiboxer. Three boomchickens, all with the same, slightly predictable, guildname- <Multi-Box>. I was apprehensive, but ran with it, and was pleasantly surprised. He put out acceptable dps, rarely pulled, moved where he needed to, etc. He even behaved correctly for the final boss in Nexus. My opinion of multi boxers has improved, but Nexus is old news, and Cata will be hitting in about 12 hours. I stand by my belief that a multiboxer will lag behind the rest of us who play individul toons.

Guild Shenanigans

It's fairly common to run into groups full of guildmates, grouped together for companionship or to run a lower level guildy through a dungeon for either XP or gear. Occasionally there will be shenanigans- strange "inside jokes", agro contests, MD-ing to a random group member(heals-eep!) and doing crazy pulls or other stupid shit.

Occasionally, there will be a guild run that will simply boggle the mind of the random lfg-er who got sucked into it. This past weekend, I'm sure my guild <Blizzcon AfterParty> did just that- confused and baffled some poor sap who got grouped with us by the lfg finder.

Behold, an achievement that we, in our boredom, invented. All three bosses in halls of stone, downed withing 15 seconds of each other. It should be noted that this is on regular. If an achievement did get implemented, I would prefer that it be on heroic, and require nobody to die.



Strategy involves moving the three bosses in a circle to keep out of the black voids. Party members get thrown back, stoned, and then explode, causing damage to nearby party members. There are also a small amount of adds which will flock to the healer. Achievement requires  movement, awareness and survivability.

SW Raid

To counter my org raid post, and because I am Horde at heart and was bored, I went through SW and created a map and strategy.

The first thing you're going to notice is that there are not nearly as many auctioneer's, bankers, and innkeepers as in Org. This is actually good. You can theoretically control the city with fewer raids.

Raid1- Only one raid should be necessary for the Dwarven District. The alliance population there is exceptionally low. It will however be an entry point for all alliance coming from Ironforge. This raid needs to be prepared for that.

Raid2&3- The trade district has an incredibly high concentration of alliance players. Because of this, I'm suggesting two raids to handle this area. One raid may be able to handle it, but two will keep it comfortably under control. Should there be a lull in this area and R1 needs assistance, R3 can peel off and go assist there.

Raid 4&5-  King Wrynn's room. The horde has an advantage that the alliance does not in raiding each others main cities. King Wrynn's fortress has multiple rooms and entrances. The red lines on my map indicate areas in the fortress where flyers can land, and immediately launch an assault- providing at least thirty seconds of dps on King Wrynn before the bulk of the alliance arrives to interfere. The price of that advantage is more guards already posted in his room that will have to be dealt with. His fortress handily provides another advantage- a separate room from which to heal, res, and summon reinforcements. It should be noted that room needs to be cleared out beforehand- it comes equipped with two battlemasters. King Wrynn's room has two entrances, a long hallway lined with guards, and landing platform I mentioned above. Keep in mind, that the alliance can also take advantage of that landing area. Don't get caught with your pants down. Assign a raid to lock down those two entrances. When opposition is light, they can switch to Wrynn.

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The horde has another advantage that I feel the alliance does not have- LOS. Whereas Org is very flat and open, SW is full of buildings, cramped streets and handy nooks and crannies. I highly recommend utilizing rooftops, and line of sight by entering buildings and running around corners. A notation about SW banks- they are very roomy, and provide a good "base of operations" to settle down in. DPS should lay down aoe after aoe directly *outside* the door, while healers stay towards the rear. Warlocks can set up summoning stones in one of the back rooms, and healers should be capable of dropping combat back there to res anyone who dies. There is also plenty of room for mages to set up ports when everyone is ready to leave.

Post cata edit- It should be noted that the dwarven district recieves much more activity now, due to its proximity to the portals that access the new cata zones.