That while went rather longer than I intended as real life continued on being a giant ass. Last week I quit my job, with no new one to go to. Losing everything I own and living on the street is still a better option than continuing to go to work in that place!

So I’m now looking for work. I don’t actually finish up with my current job until the end of September, which I hope will be enough time to sort something out. I’m pretty bad at not working. Don’t get me wrong, I love the relaxing around the house thing, I just don’t love the don’t know where my next dollar comes from thing. Good thing my SO can pay for my WoW time from her job!

But seriously…

All the RL crap has kept me away from WoW. When I have had time, I haven’t much been in the mood. Resolving the work shite has left me in a gaming mood! Since I posted last I transferred my lock (Rohman) to horde. Two reasons for that – My SO plays horde, and we wanted to play together again. I couldn’t bear the idea of starting with no cash again, so I transferred a toon loaded with gold and BoA’s over. Secondly I wanted to play horde through the old world before it gets cataclysmed…

I also did something I thought I never would… started, and kept playing, a rogue. Already up to Level 42 in fact! Have been enjoying the Blood Elf story, and consequently the wider Horde story as I level. Also getting right into battlegrounds… and enjoying the rewards from them (massive XP, good loot!)

Had my first attempts at Lich King last night in… um… four months! Have rejoined an old guild for a while to take a crack at the KingSlayer title on Soonti and maybe Badaji if we get to it. Have been loving being back into raiding again… it’s something I’ve always enjoyed. Still making gold, though not so much as I was before. Really only doing it to fund my levelling toons, although now that I am raiding again I will have to fund that as well… but with loot changes down to one or maybe two items a week, it shouldn’t be very expensive.

So anyway… welcome back to me! Still have made no decision at all about what toon to use come cataclysm. I think it will largely depend on what is happening with a guild at that point – I will choose whatever toon is needed the most…

Have been running a few pugs with a friends guild, and barely logging in apart from that.

Ruby Sanctum may change that, but only for a week or two. I’m all raided out, with nowhere to go…

I’ve basically given up on the AH as the economy is collapsing on Thaurissan Alliance as raiders take a hiatus. I was never a big player, but could comfortably make 5k a week with only an hour maximum invested. I am still thinking of getting together the material for a chopper before cataclysm though…

Roll on Cataclysm!

PS – Money making tip! Argent Tournament pets are going to be worth a bomb a few months into Cataclysm. Buy as many as you can, as cheaply as you can, and store them for six months. I’m already seeing as the price rising as people stop running dailies (~300g per pet on my server now) and I expect these will go over 1k each in a few months. For those of you for whom that is a long time to invest, I would suggest stocking up on rare ore, herbs and gems from the 200-350 skill areas.

I had a number of players I know immediately express their interest in my vision… however I figure I should probably write it down and then not change it, because at the moment it feels like I am telling everyone something different as my ideas are aired! So here it is, the Guild Charter, Mission Statement, Value Proposition and TL;DR Wank *grin*

GTA Stormwind City Charter.

1. This is a guild for 10 man raiding only. Players are welcome to PUG as much as they want, as long as they don’t get locked to any 10 man we are working on.

3. Raid times are 8:30 – 11pm (AEST). Nights are yet to be determined, but are likely to be Sunday and Monday.

2. It is our aim to only have active raiders in the guild. This means:

• Membership is capped at 10.
• No Alts, except if they are an alt of an active raider, and that alt is used as a sub in raids
• No Socials. No exceptions.
• Attendance on scheduled raids is not mandatory, but planning ahead and notification if you can’t make a raid is.
• If you intend on becoming inactive for any period longer than two weeks, then you will be removed from the active roster, and may need to wait if recruitment replaces you while you are away.

It is possible that we will allow twelve or thirteen active members total, to give us some cover when members aren’t available for whatever reason. All players will be rotated weekly in this case to ensure that any one player does not miss out.

3.  This guild is run for the express benefit of the group of friends that form it. If you wish to be a part, you better be ready to be a friend.

4. Recruits are not only judged on performance, class knowledge, attendance etc. but also on their cultural fit into the guild. If you don’t fit, you will not be accepted.

5. GearScore, Meter spam etc. are not allowed. Players who E-Peen will not fit with the ethos of the guild.

6. A raid team is exactly that. If anyone wants to beat other players in meter races, then go find another guild.

/Placeholder… there are probably a lot more things I need to think about in here.

At this stage there is just me, and I am not actively recruiting anyone else into the guild. I still really need to work out what happens next.

Over the last couple of months I have been almost dreading logging in for raid nights. I was having some lag issues, which are now (mostly) resolved, which was really cramping my enjoyment as I knew that I would not be able to put up good numbers at all. For the last five weeks we have been getting up to Sindragosa, but not getting any further. I have also not been getting to raid 10 man due to some decisions made by guild leadership, with which I did not (and still do not) agree.

Then the name calling and shirt pulling began over being stuck on one fight for so long, and while none of it was personal, I decided enough was enough and quit.

The best part of this, is that I hear from another fried that he heard I was kicked. No reason given. It is true that I was kicked, I guess… but only because I put up a resignation on the forums and hadn’t gotten around to logging in to gquit yet… but that won’t stop the rumour monkeys.

Within 30 minutes I had been asked to join an old guild and help out with their development group. I may well do that, but only as long as it stays fun! I am seriously considering putting together a 10 man group now, in anticipation of Cataclysm, as I can’t see many of the 25 man guild staying together – on of the leading guilds on Thaurissan has already shut up shop…

So yes, posts have been few and far between lately, however I can’t really say there has been much to say. I don’t follow the Cataclysm news, nor want to theory craft or post more tactics on fights that are mostly never to be seen again. Stick with me though… I do intend to continue, especially once Cataclysm goes live, I sort out a new raid team and we dig into the whole new (shattered) world!

PS. I do still very much want to finish LK on as many toons as I can, and I am busy gearing all my 80′s (six of the suckers now!) to a basic level if I havent been raiding on them so that they ill have an easier time at the start of thier next level grind…

Wednesday night saw a new strategy on Professor Putricide. This worked perfectly and we waltzed it in. Will document this soon, as I haven’t seen it anywhere on the web. All other bosses were one-shot, which is good to know that everything is on farm now.

Blood Queen Lanathel took us about 2 hours last night. We tried different strategies until it finally clicked on the last attempt of the night.

Some discussion then ensued as to whether we should try for a third night this week, or have our normal 2 night for 10 man. I will likely not make either night this week, so I don’t have an opinion… actually, I do have an opinion, but I’ll keep it to myself.

Yeah right! 10 man progression is going better than 25. Those who attend 10 mans do better (imho) at 25 man, know the fights etc. It is silly to interrupt 10 man nights to do 25 man, when there will be a number of raiders who haven’t seen, let alone downed, Sindragosa in 10 man.

I am hoping to hit 80 on my priest this week. I will then grind out as much gear as I can before trying to get a spot to take him into ICC for the few few bosses each week. This will mean that loot that is currently being DE’ed could be put to use. We are recruiting a discipline priest, and I have been very much enjoying discipline healing, so I will lean heavily on that angle to get my plan working!

Monday night was straight into Sindragosa (obviously) and after another six or seven wipes we finally pieced it together to own her bony butt. I am not sure that this time the RNG God’s didn’t just smile on us, but I’ll take a kill where I can find it at the moment. We moved on to LK, fiddled about a while and talked strategy, then I called it a night as RL is interfering with playtime again. At this stage I haven’t seen the LK fight yet, however I am expecting to next week!

In other WoW related news, my little priesty is almost all growed up. I am 60% through 72 now, and bashing Dragonblight for what I hope will be the last time (hah right!) When I ding this toon I might faction transfer over to horde as my SO plays a Tauren Warrior, so I would like a toon to play with her occasionally… however I am so enamoured with Discipline healing that I may also play through cataclysm with Badaji as my main. Time will tell on this one. I have also been enjoying doing BC Heroics. I get less xp per hour from them, but its new content to me, so I’ll probably keep doing one or two a level until I can’t any more!

I was reading BBB today, where he talked about being done with the game. I sympathise… I was there a few months back, and I’m not completely enamoured at the moment. WoW is my diversion from real life, but ultimately I need to be able to fit it in around work, home, play etc. rather than fitting life around WoW. My WoW mojo returned somewhat by joining a new guild and taking a backseat in regards to leading or organisation. My plan for the future, if the problem reoccurs, is to server/faction change, or level a toon that none of my old friends knows about. I truly do enjoy WoW. I enjoy the fact that whatever is going on IRL can disappear while I’m fragging murlocs. While I’m not an achievement junky (I just hit 3k the other night on my main, which I am assured is not really trying) I do enjoy seeing that message come up to tell me I’ve done something that is slightly noteworthy. I can see my pursuing those more once I get bored in the interim between LK dying and Cataclysm arriving. So to you BBB I say… a change can be as good as a holiday. If you still enjoy the game, and feel torn by the decision to stop playing, then change how you play!

In an RL discussion this week, I wondered why players put up with bad Raid Leaders. I look at it like this – if my manager at work treated me like I’ve had some RL’s behave, at best I would find work elsewhere, at worst I would be consulting a work-place lawyer about suing the company. RL’s need to be people managers. Screaming at people over vent when a wipe occurs is UNACCEPTABLE. Singling a player out for making a mistake is UNACCEPTABLE. Telling the raid that everyone else caused a wipe (everyone but me) is UNACCEPTABLE. If you want to raid lead, remember, there are 9 or 24 real people out there you are leading. If you don’t know how to encourage them, and use constructive criticism, if you don’t know what to do when things go wrong, if you ever scream, shout, swear, insult or otherwise behave inappropriately with guildies, then you shouldn’t be leading… or at least, be prepared for your raiders to take it out on you.

I know RL’ing is hard work. I’ve done it. I’ve also captained and coached sports teams, and in reality the experience is very similar. I would suggest to all RL’s to sit back and consider how they run a raid. If anything I’ve said above applies to you, then have a think how you would feel if someone did it to you, then change your behaviour.

Real Life Moment: I keep meaning to add a little something for the few friends I have who follow my blog, but who are not WoW players. Finally here is one! I had lunch today at Satang Thai, in Quay St. Sydney. This place probably qualifies as one of my all time favourite Thai restaurants – the food is top quality, its quite cheap, and the ambiance is reasonable – it’s a place for a quick lunch with friends, not a business meal or romantic dinner though!

We finished last night with a few attempts at Putricide… but we just couldn’t get him down. Tonight we went in and stomped him down with no fuss at all. Goes to show what being fresh can do!

Was quite happy with the heal meter after that fight!

Moved on to Blood Queen Lana’thel and spent 3 or 4 goes learning the mechanics, then another one with an early wipe due to a vampire who didn’t want to bite… then it clicked and we took her down clean and fast.

Again, I was rather happy with my heals this fight.

Downing those two got my two more achievements… and two bosses closer to the ultimate aim of this game.

But first… Sindragosa.

Our best effort there tonight was 28%. I don’t think we quite get the second phase yet. Will hopefully get to work on it more next week.

As much as I liked the trash on the way to Rotface and Festergut (I want that damn ribbon!) I disliked the trash on the way to Sindragosa. Talk about filler.

And here it is!

There are really only a few loot addons you may want to investigate, and really you don’t need any of them to be a successful raider. I personally like my combo as with our loot system if we don’t make a decision about the loot in 30 seconds we get passed over for rolling. this encourages you to know if you want/need the item in advance. The addons I use allows me to keep a list of what upgrades are coming from the bosses we are working on, notify me when one drops, or evaluate an upgrade if it was an unexpected/unplanned drop.

Atlasloot

Of all the possible loot related addons, this one is the most useful. It basically has information about every equipable item in the game (well not quite, but almost!) including boss drops, craftables and everything else! Atlasloot will/does/is -

• Information for every piece of loot, from every dungeon or raid, including seasonal/event bosses
• Tell you drop rates for items
• Allow you to see EPGP/DKP costs on items (if you change some settings in the lua)
• Allow you to see the amount of tokens/badges items cost, and also work out the upgrade path for items like T10 armour
• Ingredients list for craftables
• Atlasloot includes a wishlist function, however it leaves a lot to be desired, at least compared to the functionality of Lootplan

LootPlan

LootPlans sole function is to tip you off when you see the item information of an item you want. This tool is best used in conjunction with AtlasLoot – browse the loot in there, tag it and add it to LootPlan. Then when the boss drops that long awaited trinket, staff or other shiney, it will pop up a reminder of what set you want it for (tank, ranged, heal, melee and other- and it will only show those applicable to your class.) Apparently the main feature is you can export your list for use with their on-line presence. I’ve never bothered as it does what I need inside the game. However, if you use RAWR, you can export from there into LootPlan. Even though I use RAWR, I have never found this to be a feature I really want to use…

Installing LibPeriodicTable is not essential, but it will add the boss or other location information to tool tips as well.

GearScore

Urrghhh… I hate it, but you got to have it if you want to PUG anything these days. This little addon simply calculates a score based on what gear you are wearing. It doesnt take into account whether the items are properly itemised, enchanted, gemmed or whatever… so it is, in many cases, worse than useless.

Elitist Group

Like Gear Score, but more than just a number. EG tries to gather a sensible amount of information about a player – what raids they have done, what gear have they got, it is correctly gemmed and enchanted; then presents that in a window so a PUG leader can easily check out those GearScore claims. Only really useful if you want to either lead PUGs, or if you want to rate players so you remember them for the future.

RatingBuster

This tool is useful when levelling, and even at max level (though serious players will want to theorycraft more than this will let you.) RatingBuster gives a simplified view of what the stats are on a piece of loot, and allows you to quickly tell whether or not it is an upgrade.

Outfitter

This little gem allows sets of gear to be swapped in and out, put in the bank, or otherwise manipulated. If you have Dual Spec this is essential – it makes the inbuilt tool look terrible (and existed long before that tool came along.) It also has the ability to auto switch in items based on what you are doing or what stance/shape/etc. you shift into. So if you have riding gloves, carrot on a stick and mithril spur equipped boots, it will swap them in automatically for you whenever you jump on your mount.

XLoot

XLoot replaces the inbuilt Loot frame, giving lots more info about what you are picking up, and all in less space.

(Thanks to Quintis for the suggestion)

PassLoot

This is a smart auto-roller. Always want to greed Frozen Orbs, disenchant ilvl 200 or below items and greed on everything else? Then PassLoot can do it for you.

PassLoot_ConfirmBoP will auto-confirm that disenchanting a BoP is ok, and PassLoot_AtlasLoot allows you to use AtlasLoot for filtering.

Just in case people don’t already, I suggest installing the Curse Client and installing all addons via it. They will be kept up to date (well, it will tell you what needs updating and do it for you when you click)

Also checkout Curseforge which supports a lot of addons in development, and is a great place to help out a developer looking for testers.

I said it, now I can get on with other things!

7/12 in 25 ICC and 8/12 in 10 ICC this week. Back tonight for more 10 man, hopefully Putricide and Blood Queen or Sindragosa (or both!) will take a dirt nap this week. No loot from 10 man, but a nice new pair of pants from 25.

It seems that I am a healer again, so while I keep getting told I won’t need to heal, I’ll keep turning up to heal when we are short.

I hit 80 with my fourth toon over the weekend as well. I know I don’t have the energy to run another toon through dungeons to grab welfare epics, so I doubt much will ever happen with it. Add to that I actually don’t enjoy death knights much to play, and I am not actually sure why I bothered finishing levelling it. I am up to 55 on my priest, and I think I will finish him next, although I have two others already ~70, so finishing one of them is a shorter path. From a professions point of view, I really should finish my warrior next so that I can finish a blacksmith off. Somehow I doubt it, as playing a warrior leaves me colder than playing a death knight. Not quite as cold as a rogue though…

Last weeks promised guide is coming… when RL stops sucking quite so much.