World of Saz

TNB - The Sazzypants Episode

2012-02-22T01:27:00.001-06:00

So you know how I said I was going to be on that thing with the thing with the people? You know, be a guest on one of the Twisted Nether podcasts? This past Sunday that situation happened! Fimlys was charming, Hydra was adorable, and I had an absolute blast.

If you haven't already listened to this week's episode from TNB, you should totally do so! I mean, you get to hear my supposedly sexy voice as I stutter my way through promoting Twitterland Raiding, talking about raiding, and of course the interview about my blogging experiences. It was a definite joy to be a part of the show!

Post-show notes:

Twitterland Raiding is no longer twitterland.enjin.com, it's now twitterlandraiding.com so please update your bookmarks.

This week my guild broke down into two groups, both of which are running heroic modes this week. It's a sad day when a 25 man guild needs to go to such measures, but we're hoping to come back strong into the 25 man scene once again when MoP hits. Until then, progression go!

As hard as I tried to get my love on, and as much as Path helped me, I was still a little under 60 tokens short of obtaining my second Swift Love Bird. Me and my damn procrastination...

Final Class Grades: Cataclysm

2012-02-21T12:15:00.000-06:00

We're at that time ladies and gents. Dragon Soul is slowly but surely becoming old hat, the stories have been told, and we're starting to hit the pre-expansion doldrums with full force. Cataclysm is nearing its end and there's no escaping that truth. In spirit of this truth, Tzufit from Tree Heals Go Woosh has set up a post asking, in so little words, how fellow bloggers would grade the changes that their character(s) have experienced in this expansion. Check out the original post here. I may or may not skip a few questions, just because I'm lazy like that!

I'm actually going to talk about my two favorite classes/specs in this post, those being enhancement shaman and feral (dps) druid. Feel free to agree or disagree with any of my points, for these are my opinions as I see them at this point in time.

Do you feel that your class is better (in that it is more fun to play, more effective, etc.) now than it was at the end of Wrath? Do you feel that your class is better now than it was at the beginning of Cataclysm?

Enhancement: In a lot of ways, yes yes and yes. At the end of Wrath we were plagued with poorly itemized gear (Armor Pen), semi-wonky synergy with our spells, and reeeeally low survivability thanks to an oddly smallish health pool. Thankfully Cataclysm helped to level out health pools, improved upon spell synergy (I still hate Searing Totem though), and Blizz gave us that tasty stat called mastery. AoE at the end of Wrath was alright for this spec, not stellar but I managed to hold my own just fine for the raids I was participating in. With the Cataclysm changes though enhancement became rather frustrating, at least with 4.2 (I missed most of patch 4.1). I loathed AoE situations, especially when the mobs had low HP. I also felt that despite my decent gear, it was much easier to put our numbers with my lesser geared feral. With 4.3 we saw a drastic change with enhancement's AoE system though, and while it's far from perfect (four globals, minus a possible totem switch, to let off ONE pulse of AoE? Granted, it's pretty OP) it's a far cry from the juggling crap we had to deal with in 4.2. I'm definitely finding myself enjoying the current play style of enhancement, regardless of minor tweaks I'd still like to see with the spec.

Feral: Wrath cat > Cata cat. In Wrath feral was a pain in the furry butt. In order to perform well, you had to juggle crazy things such as the ArP cap, crit rating (I think I had 60% or so unbuffed at the end of Wrath, and my druid wasn't all that geared), and an INSANE dps rotation. I loved it. If you could juggle your stats and rotation priority, you could dominate nearly every fight. For Cataclysm Blizzard eased up on the rotational difficulty for kitty. Instead of being okay and pulling mediocre numbers or being a perfectionist and pulling ridiculous numbers, you now can choose between being okay and pulling okay numbers or being a perfectionist and pulling okay numbers. Feral does okay on all single target fights save for Ultraxion (thanks Blizzard for tossing an unobtainable positional requirement on that one), semi-almost okay on target switch fights, and really "meh" on AoE fights thanks to swipe nerfs and severe energy starvation. I love feral to bits, I really do, but my cat has seen very little love in Dragon Soul thanks to the frustrations of playing the class currently. I'm definitely looking forward to what changes that may come around in Mists of Pandaria.

Did you switch mains during Cataclysm? If so, why did you make that choice?

I considered it during Firelands. My druid has always been my next-in-line choice behind my shaman, and honestly I was having a lot more fun as a cat than as enhancement during 4.2. However, I'm glad I stuck to my main of 5+ years, as she's now a blast to play in Dragon Soul.

What were your class’/spec’s strengths throughout Cataclysm? What were its weaknesses?

Enhancement: Consistent damage and while some of our buff utility has been stripped away thanks to class homogenization, we still do bring flexibility to a raid where buffs are concerned. I've already touched on how for a good chunk of this expansion one of enhancement's biggest weaknesses was the class's lack of AoE viability. Now? AoE is one of our strengths, provided of course that the mobs live long enough. While we're still missing out on an on-demand single-target dps cooldown (wolves have been nerfed substantially due to PvP OPness issues), we do provide decent and consistent single target damage.

Feral: Strengths include raid flexibility (kitty/bear tanking), decent burst with cooldowns, and amazing mobility. Weaknesses are sustained (keyword here) AoE, slow ramp up times, and energy starvation. The slow ramp up times cause some fairly serious issues with target switching. Getting to different targets in a quick fashion is not at all an issue, losing refreshes on bleed up time, having to start from square one with ALL of our bleeds (often without cooldowns up since TF is used when available/low energy), and no ability to switched gained combo points during immediate target switches, thus wasting precious energy. Cata cat is a different sort of juggle from Wrath, and unfortunately the Cata raid-target swap juggle yields very little satisfaction for even the best of executions.

Did you enjoy the addition of the mastery stat? What did you like about it, or, what would you change?

For both of my favorite specs I absolutely LOVED the addition of mastery. Sure, I miss ArP as a feral, but over all I approve greatly of this stat. It's potent without necessarily making damage *too* over powered even if one stacks it pretty heavily, which for both characters I do. Alright, so my shaman's AoE might be disgusting with the addition of mastery, what of it? Let me have my fun!

Is your class easier or harder for a fresh 85 to learn now than it was at the end of Wrath? Is this a good or a bad thing?

Enhancement: In some respects I think it is quite a bit more difficult for a new level 85 to learn how to play this spec well. Don't get me wrong, you can faceroll with enhancement and still achieve decent numbers, but to properly watch everything this spec has going on (Searing Totem timers, Flame Shock DoT, CD timers, weaving in Earth Shock, survival CDs, pet targets for both wolves and Searing totem ect) can take a few choice tracking addons and a bit of skill. Personally I think it's a good thing. I enjoy a more challenging priority system. If I didn't, I'd go play an arcane mage.

Feral: So much easier. You can completely flub your rotation, bleed/Savage Roar up times, and still manage to come out okay, provided you aren't purely auto swinging. I suppose in a way this is an okay way to play if you're new to the game, but as an ex-Wrath kitty, I miss having to force myself to play at an insane skill level in order to pull amazing dps. Forcing myself to properly execute everything with my rotation, only to have someone faceroll next to me and only do slightly less dps doesn't compel me to put more time into learning the ins and outs of my character or to spend more time on her. Easier game play only makes me want to faceroll on her once a week and leaves me bored. Again, if I wanted easy game play I'd level up my mage already and play her as arcane.

Overall, do you enjoy the playstyle of your class more now, at the end of Cataclysm, than you did prior to patch 4.0 at the end of Wrath? Why or why not?

Enhancement: Yes. This is partially due to improved class mechanics and in part due to my heavier involvement with the inner workings of the class itself. I'll freely admit I was still a bit of a noob at the end of Wrath and I wasn't aware of a lot of things. I hit things with axes/maces, and I was happy. Not having to rely on Searing Totem's horrible AI and being able to AoE off of our fire totem was nice, even if it was far from ideal for our elemental brothers and sisters. While not all of our current mechanics are perfect, our current play style isn't terrible either. For now I shall be happy with what we have and continue to blow up bad pixels in a PvE environment!

Feral: No, sadly. The decrease in difficulty (re: all the QQ in this post) has killed a lot of my love for this class's play style. I still love being feral, love the shape shifting aspect of it and the fluid physical movements of the cat model, and the mobility of the spec. The low potential damage out put and fight-based viability is a bit soul-crushing to me though. I'm really hoping for good things in MoP for this spec. I want to see more glory for all of the raiding ferals everywhere!

So there you have it folks, my opinions on the state of enhancement and feral dps at the end of Cataclysm. Disagree? Wish to talk about the class of your choice? You should do so, and when you're finished you should send a link to your article to Tzufit. If you missed the link to the original post and are to lazy to scroll back up through this post, here's another one. Let the blogging world know what your thoughts on this expansion are!

Saz's Sixth

2012-02-18T18:15:00.001-06:00

Sixth, the great blogging meme of the week. If there's one thing that I've realized with this meme, it's how badly I really need to spend several days sorting through all of my screenshots. There are plenty that have yet to make their way into a sorted folder. Anyways...the meme!

Go into your image folder
Open the sixth sub-folder and choose the sixth image.
Publish the image! (and a few words wouldn’t hurt, though I dare say I couldn’t stop a blogger from adding a few words of their own).
Challenge six new bloggers.
Link to them.

Ah, the re-invasion of Gnomergon. That was a pretty fun event, was it not? Know all the little Gnomes have their purification processes so that they may regain some of their members, long thought lost to that leper plague.

This is the part where I'm supposed to challenge six more people. The problem with starting a meme even three days after its initial creation is that pretty much everyone I can think of has already been tagged and participated. If they haven't been, chances are they may not participate anyways.

So! Darling dearest reader of mine, I challenge YOU, if you haven't already completed this meme. If you partake and you haven't been tagged anywhere else, drop a comment below and I shall link your post here. While this method may be seen as cheating, it's the best way I can think of to get some link and meme love out to the community : P

Edit: Self tagged!
Obscurefox from PuG A Day and Other Nonsense

Fortune Friday

2012-02-17T05:42:00.001-06:00

They're quirky, they're fun, they're random Azerothian fortunes! Every Friday you will see a different fortune (either from our beloved Darkmoon Faire or the new fortune cards) featured here at World of Saz. Enjoy!

Fortune Card: A shaman's blessing is elementary.

TNB Live!

2012-02-17T01:30:00.000-06:00

That's right, yours truly will be a guest on the Twisted Nether Blogcast this Saturday evening! You should tune in as it should be a good time. If you can't make it though, fret not! TNB will have copies of the show on both iTunes and I believe Zune for listening at a later date. Here are the live show details in case you don't care to click links or something silly like that.

When is it?: This live show is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th at 8pm PT (11pm ET). Not sure what time that is for you? Use this handy-dandy time converter!

Where do I go? To participate on the live show, you will need to go to the TNB Live Show page to connect with the stream. See, totally easy. If you are having issues then go to the Ustream page. Don’t forget to register/login to UStream so you can chat with us!

Some general ground rules:

Be nice. If you say very inappropriate things be aware you will be kicked from the room. We are doing this to have a great time, come with a beer, come during a raid, come how you wish, just don’t come to cause trouble.
You may ask questions to the participants during the show, but we reserve the right to use them if and when we can. We will be monitoring the chat room and if we can we will use the comments during the show. We love that you are with us, but we will have to weave them in. Even if it isn’t asked, we all appreciate your questions!

Outside of that, we will love to have you join us and partake in an enlightening discussion that is sure to follow! Hope to see you there!

Fortune Friday

2012-02-10T06:26:00.000-06:00

OMG Projects

2012-02-07T03:30:00.000-06:00

I am tired. So very, very tired. Why am I tired? Because I've been rather busy. Busy I have been with some of the most fun and worth it things to have been busy with.

For those of you unaware, I have recently started up another little project. This project is called Twitterland Raiding, you may have heard of it recently thanks to word of mouth (aka retweets) on Twitter and a certain post on WoW Insider. If you're not familiar with the TLR forums yet, it's a place where you can get like-minded folks together to raid non-current content. So far we've had a blast and I highly suggest you join up with us.

I have to admit that I was under some assumption that TLR wouldn't grow quite so fast, though why I didn't think it would explode like it has is beyond me. After all, this is the Twitter/Blogging/general WoW population that we're talking about here. Needless to say, the raids and streams of new site applicants has kept me extremely busy over the past week or so. My head is spinning, my eyes are droopy, and I couldn't be more excited to see so many people come together. I really must thank everyone who has helped to spread the word about Twitterland Raiding. It is my deepest hope that everyone who joins us manages to find a raid and have some fun because really, I've personally have had a blast so far.

Another thing you should check out is Sleepy Hams public Mumble. This isn't a project of mine, but Vitaemachina has been hard at work with providing the Twitter community with an open Mumble service. It's pretty awesome. Good people, crazy conversations, definitely recommend it!

This past Sunday I was also a guest on the podcast Group Quest. You should check it out. It was apparently deemed their best episode ever, or something of that nature. It was good fun, we discussed some rather serious topics, and I hope that it's as enjoyable for you to listen to as it was for me to participate.

On top of all this craziness, in game there are three holidays going on. I still have yet to find time to farm up a second lantern pet to make my money back, let alone farm up two flamingo mounts (one for Saz, one for selling). I doubt I'll be able to get my Darkmoon bear mount this faire, but I'm still getting those dailies done on Saz for future purchases + reputation.

Did I also mention that I've been doing the recruitment thing for my guild? I'm not responsible for actual /g invites or spamming Trade/General with guild ads thankfully, but I've taken over the task of forum hound. Good times, eh?

Tired Sazzy is tired. However, I couldn't be more please with how things are progressing. Another week or two of insanity and I think everything will slow down, smooth out, and be completely worth all of this effort. I may slow down again on *some* of the blog posting, but knowing me you will still get more than regular posts from me.

While I have you here and I'm plugging links like it's my job, you should check out my Facebook page. It's nothing too fancy, but I'm trying to keep it updated with any posts and projects that I do. If I don't mention it on here or on Twitter, or if you miss it (I know I miss a lot of things because of how fast Twitter moves but catch it somehow on Facebook), it will more than likely be posted on that page as well.

With that all said, I'm going to go take a breather. By that I mean I'm going to go sit down and do some class/spec research that I've been meaning to do on resto shamaning, retadinning, and roguing. Yes, I'm making up words now but you probably understood me anyways : P

Until next time, be good. *pinches cheek*

Enhanced Leveling: Levels 10 - 25 (Cataclysm)

2012-02-04T01:10:00.000-06:00

A dark skinned draenei woman was shifting papers around her battered mahogany desk in her upstairs apartment in Booty Bay. The balmy air caused her shoulder length hair to cling to the back of her neck, but it didn't seem to bother the shaman in the least. She went about her tasks quietly humming to herself, completely oblivious to the salty heat that was so often complained about by the town's visitors.

She turned in her chair, rubbing her lower back as she attempted to knead out the stiffness that sitting many hours on a hard wooden chair caused. Looking out the apartment's little window, the shaman took note of how low the sun was in the sky and how the dark clouds that promised that evening's summer thunderstorm was nearly upon the sleepy town. She lost herself in a hazy day dream as she stared out of her window, not bothering to come out of her reverie until there came a faint rap on her door.

"Come in."

A young draenei girl walked into the one room apartment. Her light blue skin glistened where the first fat rain drops of the impending storm had come into splashed onto her. Much like the other woman whose room she was entering, her shoulder length hair clung to her neck from both heat and rain.

The girl bowed her head in greeting. "Miss Saz."

"Greetings little one, have you decided to stay on the path of becoming a warrior of the elements?"

"Yes, Elder."

"Good." The shaman smiled at the young draenei girl before her, a scar on her lip creasing as she did so. "It appears that we have a stormy evening ahead of us, so I shall not be sending you on any quests. Let's work on your spells tonight."

Putting a hand on one of her axe hilts, the younger shaman smiled. An eagerness to learn burning brightly in her eyes.

I have been ever so slowly leveling up young Sazza. She's currently sitting at level 25, waiting patiently in Stormwind for me to return to her. Leveling an enhancement shaman for the second time around with actually knowing what I'm doing so far has been a rather fun and insightful project.

Talent Points
Tier 1
Talent points can often be a tricky thing to decide on. Luckily for leveling they don't matter a whole lot, just so long as you put them into your intended leveling tree. In my previous post I stated how I was putting points into Focused Strikes first. At the time with two extremely poor weapons that was actually a decent choice. For quite a while my Primal Strike attack and Lava Lash ability were doing roughly the same amount of damage. In hindsight I wish I had gone 2/2 Elemental Weapons and then 3/3 Focused Strikes since Lava Lash at low levels with the Flametongue imbue on it hits fairly hard with those two points in Elemental Weapons. In the end though it doesn't matter a whole lot, since you usually fill in all of the talent points rather quickly anyways. Just fill in the blanks as soon as you're able.

Sazza So Far
2/2 Elemental Weapons
3/3 Focused Strikes
0/3 Improved Shields (We'll return to this talent later)

Tier 2
I had a hard time deciding which talents to dip into first in the second tier. In the end you will have talent points in three of the four available talents for this tier, but which is best to do with first? Personally, I think that if you're going through dungeons go with 3/3 Flurry first, then start filling in Elemental Devastation. If you're soloing, 2/2 Ancestral Swiftness is very handy, so I'd dip into that and Flurry before Elemental Devastation.

Sazza So Far
0/3 Elemental Devastation
2/3 Flurry
2/2 Ancestral Swiftness
0/2 Totemic Reach

Abilities
Shaman actually gain a lot of new abilities rather quickly. For someone who is new to the ways of the shaman, it can be slightly overwhelming. Let's go through the list and break down what everything is used for.

Level 12
Purge - Can remove certain buffs from mobs/bosses/other players. Probably won't use this much while leveling solo, or even in instances.
Flametongue Totem - Our spell power buff totem. Pretty much never used by enhancement shaman.
Ancestral Spirit - Allows you to raise people from the dead, so long as you aren't dead as well.

Level 14
Flame Shock - One of our two main shocks. Get used to this one, it's vital for DPS.

Level 15
Ghost Wolf - Our travel form. Increases our "walk" speed slightly. Has a two second cast timer until we spec into Ancestral Swiftness.
Dungeon Finder - While this isn't a spell, it's worth noting here. Allows you to queue up for random dungeons suitable for your current level. Hit "I" - choose role - Enter Queue.

Level 16
Wind Shear - Our spell interrupter. This is awesome for getting casters to come to you, reducing incoming spell damage from interrupt-able spells, and can even help get rid of a *tiny* bit of threat if you happen to be running with a tank who struggles to hold mobs off of you.

Level 18
Cleanse Spirit - Removes certain harmful debuffs (curses) from yourself and nearby friendly players.
Earthbind Totem - If you need to get away with a quickness and something is hot on your tail, drop this bad boy. It will slow anything that gives chase to you.

Level 20
Healing Stream Totem - Provides you with a small amount of passive healing. Drop this in instances or just before you pull a particularly difficult mob when soloing.
Healing Surge - A quick and somewhat efficient heal. Has a higher mana cost, but works very well in those situations where you're hurting and need a really quick heal.
Water Shield - Applying this shield allows you to passively regen mana at a faster pace. This isn't something you will use often as an enhancement shaman.

Level 22
Frost Shock - Will temporarily slow down an enemy. Most often used in PvP, but can be used to slow a mobs advance on you as well.

Level 24
Water Walking - Does just as it suggests: allows you to walk on water. Without a glyph this ability requires you to carry around Fish Oil though, which can usually be found on any nasty murloc near you.

Glyphs
Once you reach level 25 you gain the usage of your first set of glyphs. You are able to use one Prime, one Major, and one Minor glyph. Here's what I personally went with.

Prime: Lava Lash - With proper weapons and the Flametongue imbue, Lava Lash hits fairly hard. Since you do not have Windfury Weapon or Stormstrike at this level, Lava Lash is a no brainer. Enjoy the tasty Laval Lash numbers.
Major: Healing Stream Totem - I chose to go with this glyph to help reduce certain damage done to me, as well as to help out my healers in instances. Glyph of Ghost Wolf is another viable choice if you find yourself running around in the world often as a ghostly pup.
Minor: Water Walking - There's not a much for choices at this level, so I will be going with Glyph of Water Walking once I can find one at a reasonable price. Comes in handy in some situations if you're traveling out in the world.

Totems
By the time your little shaman arrives at level 25, you should have three of the four totems we typically use in any situation. While we do not have Totemic Recall yet, we can (and really should) have the ability to dismiss our totems. Somewhere on your UI, often by your portrait, there will be a representation of everyone of your totems, often accompanied by a timer of sorts. If you right click on this representation of your totem, you effectively dismiss/despawn your own totem. Do this when you wish to not accidentally pull any pesky and unwanted mobs that might come across it before you leave the area. Picking up after yourself can often save your life, especially if you're not terribly aware of your surroundings all of the time.

Earth Totem: Strength of Earth
Fire Totem: Searing
Water Totem: Healing Stream Totem
Air Totem: None yet.

Rotation
Drop your totems before you pull, if possible. Flame Shock the target, Lava Lash, Primal Strike. If Flame Shock has a good duration time on it, use Earth Shock when your shocks are ready again. Use Lava Lash and Primal Strike as they come off of cool down. Refresh your Lightning Shield and Searing Totem when needed (keep both of these up at all times).

If you're soloing you may still used the Lightning Bolt ranged pull method to help reduce some physical damage taken. For the most part though you will more less ignore Lightning Bolt until much later when we get the Maelstrom Weapon talent.

Gear
Gearing remains the same while you level. Agility leather gear with hit (if you can find it). At first finding proper weapons for enhancement can be slightly difficult, but by the time you reach level 25 you should have been able to find one, if not two, weapons that have a speed of roughly 2.60 (the ideal weapon speeds are between 2.50 and 2.80, anything faster than 2.50 messes with our damage outputs and you'd be hard pressed to find something slower than a 2.80 in the one-handed department).

Currently Sazza has Battleaxe of the Farseer and Stinging Viper equipped. The battleaxe you can get from the quest Blessing of the Elements, which can be picked up in Stormwind from Farseer Umbrua (I'm assuming that there's a similar quest for you horde types; check with your shaman trainer in Orgrimmar). Stinging Viper is a drop from Lord Pythas in Wailing Caverns.

Fortune Friday

2012-02-03T05:10:00.000-06:00

Twitterland Cross-Realm Raiding

2012-01-31T22:26:00.000-06:00

Guess what? It's Tuesday and 4.3.2 has officially launched. For those of you who live under a rock, that means cross-realm raiding via the Real ID system is now live!

Would you like to raid with your Twitter or blogging buddies? Well, then you should head on over to the new Twitterland Raiding site. We have forums, calendar scheduling, and even a giant Twitter Mumble server! There are already several US-Alliance raids set up for this coming weekend, but there's plenty of room for EU and Horde folks to set up their own raids as well. It's open to anyone from the Twitterverse and blogosphere, don't be shy!

Please, come on in and join the fun!

Ask Saz - Enhancement Questions

2012-01-30T19:09:00.000-06:00

Over the past week or so I've been asking the fine folks on Twitter for any and all enhancement shaman related questions. This idea came about partially because over the past few weeks I've been getting a several questions in game from a fellow shaman who were 85 and trying enhancement for the very first time (most were usually either restoration or elemental previously). So here is a general Q&A containing the questions I've received thus far. If you have a question that is not listed here, please feel free to either leave a comment or to toss me a tweet on Twitter @serenitysaz.

Q: Why enhancement instead of elemental?

A: Personal play style choice. I prefer the aggressive up-in-your-face chaos that is enhancement. Some folks prefer standing in the back and slinging chunks of lava at things. Elemental does have several advantages while leveling up and when you're first putting together gear sets at 85, such as being able to heal yourself more efficiently when you're soloing and sharing gear for say a restoration offspec (faster queues). I personally am a melee lover at heart though. Yes, I have bothered to build up a restoration gear set as offspec, and yes it was a touch more difficult to do as enhancement since none of my gear pieces can be used as cross-over pieces. However, I personally love the enhancement play style, hence why I don't roll as elemental.

Q: What totems should I be using?

A: The standard set up for solo play is Strength of Earth, Winfury, Healing Stream, and Searing Totem. You may need to adjust your earth and air totems for 5 mans or raids, depending on which buffs are already present and/or missing, but for the most part those four totems do the trick. To read up on which totems are similar to which buffs, please visit my totem guide.

Q: How should I execute my opener? My Searing Totem doesn't always attack my target, should I wait to drop my totems?

A: No, because your other totems will still buff your opening attacks. I personally like to run in, hit Unleash Elements, drop my totems, Stormstrike, Lava Lash, Flame Shock, then redrop my totems. Sometimes my Searing Totem will focus on my target because I had already attacked with UE, sometimes it will figure out it needs to attack my target when I hit Stormstrike, sometimes it sits there like a dodo bird. This example here is of course a very rough opener, since I did not include how I open up with wolves or pre-potting. Each fight is a little different, so my best advice is to know how each of your spells work together and how each pull will affect your opener.

Q: How do I level up as enhancement? Which rotations/glyphs should I be using?

A: I will be getting more in depth with this question as I work on my Enhanced Leveling series. Currently I'm leveling up a second enhancement shaman, Sazza, and I will be writing more on this topic as I get her up. The process may be a bit slow, but I'll get through everything eventually. I promise! If you need some serious specific help right now on your enhancement alt though, please feel free to pester me.

Q: AoE - How do I make the BIG numbers?

A: Optimizing our AoE can sometimes be tricky, especially in scenarios where mobs die quickly. The most important thing about AoE is timing our spells correctly. We're not like some classes that can simply spam one button, but we rely heavily on an AoE "rotation" that can take 3-4 GCDs to pump out the big numbers. Let's do a few scenarios to help get the idea of proper AoE down.

Yor'sahj the Unsleeping - The black ooze has been consumed by the boss and adds are about to come out. Lava Lash is an ability that has a 10 second cooldown, and the adds will be out in 6. What do you do? I personally switch from using my Searing Totem over to my Magma Totem (or perhaps even my Fire Elemental if I know it's going to be a double add phase) and only Stormstrike + refresh Flame Shock on my shock cooldown. I do not hit Lava Lash until at least half of the adds are surrounding the boss, I do not bother with Earth Shock until the add phase is over. So, as soon as those adds are out, as I said, I hit Lava Lash, Unleash Elements, and then Fire Nova. I continue to use Stormstrike on CD on the boss as well as continuously refresh Flame Shock on the boss.

Tip: Remember, any Flame Shocks that you spread to the adds will take the duration timer of the parent Flame Shock; if your Flame Shock that you spread has 3 seconds left on it, all of the duplicate Flame Shocks will likewise only have 3 seconds and counting left on their timers. Keep those timers as high as you can to prevent accidentally missing out on a Fire Nova! Chain Lightning is highly recommended to weave into your "AoE rotation" during this phase. Also remember to switch back to your Searing Totem as the add phase is ending.

Madness of Deathwing - Your team has just downed the big tentacle arm and switched back to the wing tentacle. Ol' DW is about to hemorrhage, which means big AoE time. There's 6 seconds left on the timer before he spews bloody blobs all over the place...what do you do? In this scenario I do not switch totems, but leave Mr. Derp Totem (aka Searing) to do his spitting fireballs thing at Deathwing's arm. I also do NOT use my shocks or Lava Lash if I know that the adds will be arriving soon. I instead simply Stormstrike and swing at the arm until the adds have spawned, run over to them, Flame Shock one as the add tank is rounding them up and dragging them over to the arm, and Lava Lash + Fire Nova ASAP. I then continue to Nova and Chain Lightning as much and as quickly as possible, for these adds usually die quickly.

Tip: If you manage to set up your AoE quickly and efficiently, your numbers will really shine on this encounter thanks to Spellweave. Unfortunately if you're unable to get your AoE out in a quick manor you may see your numbers plummet below those of other AoE classes. Be alert, be aware of your timers, and be aggressive.

Clear as mud? Good.

Q: What are some advanced tips and tricks for using totems?

A: My best advice is to be aware of the capability of the totems in your arsenal and any available glyphs that my enhance your totems.

- Knowing that using a glyph for Healing Stream totem can up your resistances to Frost, Fire, and Nature damage can help reduce healing needed in both your raid and you in soloing environments.

- Stoneskin Totem will give anyone within its aura range extra armor. This is useful for when you're soloing against a beasty that likes to use melee swings instead of magic damage. It'll help those dragon cleaves smart just a little bit less.

- Stoneclaw Totem can be useful for you healthwise so long as you have it glyphed. Sadly the shield that this totem/glyph combo places on you doesn't scale with gear, but in some situations an extra 16k or so absorb isn't anything to sneeze at. I definitely recommend it for certain fights when soloing, as well as for certain hardmodes (think Heroic Morchok and his stomps).

- Earth/Fire Elementals are sadly two totems that don't always get a ton of love from us enhancement shaman. They are however useful to use on a rare occasion. Big red (the fire guy) can do some heavy AoE damage and Rocky will make fun of everyone but a boss, effectively taunting any adds off of you. If you find yourself in an add heavy situation where you need to take some heat off of yourself or your healers (think Yor'sahj), it might be handy to pop these guys in order to buy a few seconds of time, as these dudes will attempt to take all the hate.

- Grounding Totem can be sometimes useful, as more often than not it will eat a spell for its user...though it does only take one hit for the team before dying and has a semi-longish cooldown (25 seconds). You can in some situations even glyph Grounding Totem to spell reflect (beware, it ups the CD on the totem to 35 seconds) and use it effectively, but generally there are better glyphs for an enhancer in soloing and raiding situations to use.

Tip: Be flexible with your totems. I personally keep several situational totems on my bars for those "just in case" moments. Things such as my elementals, Tremor Totem, and Stoneclaw Totem are all easily accessible even though they're not bound into any pre-made totem set up. Ingrain the uses of your arsenal of tools into your mind, and you shall do well with totem-twisting your way to victory in whatever you do.

I hope that this Q&A has helped to clear a few things up for those of you who may be a bit new to the world of enhancement. Until next time my fellow axe slingers, keep on swinging.

Badges of Nerdom

2012-01-28T19:23:00.000-06:00

You have read that title correctly, this post is all about the nerd badges that we all, or in this case I should say I, tend to carry around with us to promote our nerdiness. This also happens to be this week's Shared Topic over at Blog Azeroth.

What exactly is a 'nerd badge' anyways? To me personally it can be anything ranging from a habit to a physical item. I'm fairly convinced that no matter what you tend to label yourself in life, be it computer geek or jock or music junkie or whatever, you will in some way sport your nerd love for that in which you obsess over. For the record, yes sports jerseys count in my book towards nerd paraphernalia.

Let's chat about my pile of nerdy items. Prior to my move into Azeroth I was a music geek. My free time was consumed by musical activities: marching band, pep band, concert band, pit orchestra (in high school), orchestra, music festivals, and I was a bass drummer in a pipe corps. I played all sorts of instruments, mostly those in the bass range. I played bass clarinet/Eb contra alto bass clarinet for concert band as well as for a few summers in the city band, played baritone sax for pit orchestra, usually played bass drum for marching band, did cello in orchestra my senior year of high school and studied double (upright) bass during college, played various percussive instruments in my percussion ensemble group and played electric bass for college pep band. Yes, my tiny little self could pretty much always be found hauling some sort of overly large instrument around. To this day my car still has a set of drum sticks tucked into the back of my driver's seat, and a set of mallets in the trunk along with a folder with bass drum music (hand transcribed by yours truly) and spare sheet music. I can't seem to open a box without finding something music related in it. The physical collection of my nerdom has outlived the years of my neglect to my once passion, and it's not something I think I'll be shaking anytime soon.

...I just looked down at my pants and realized that they're marching band sweat pants. /sigh

I do not think that our nerdiness is always a physical item though. On the first day of try-outs for college marching band I was meandering in circles, waiting for my turn to come. As I meandered, I was drumming on my belly. Typical drummer habit really. One of the guys came up to me and said "Hey! I noticed you're drumming on your stomach. Our drum instructor does that all the time too!" I of course internally rolled my eyes a bit, thinking to myself "How nerdy..." without realizing that I too was a huge nerd with huge nerd habits.

I do have a few physical tokens outside of music memorabilia (aka items I once used on a daily basis) that belts forth my epic amounts of dorkdom. My pile of keys that I tote around? Yeah, attached to my drum key is my WoW authenticator. Yes, it goes EVERYWHERE with me. There's also a mood ring that is nearly in a permanent state of brown, not quite sure what to make of that. I have yet to acquire a WoW shirt or hoodie, or really any other sort of real world physical WoW collectable item outside of a few booster packs of TCG cards, but I'm sure I'll get a few of those items in time.

Of course, my nerdiness doesn't like to stick to one genre. Many of you who follow me on Twitter, or have been in a guild with me in the past, or have any knowledge of my guild Battle of Serenity (now slightly defunct, but still epically awesome), may know that I have a mild obsession with the Firefly series and Serenity movie. Yes, I have a paladin named Kaelei (Kaylee and Kayleefrye are both taken on my realm), who happens to be an engineer/jewelcrafter. She doesn't have a firefly pet yet, but you can be assured that she will only be using that pet once they become account wide items.

Honestly, I'm just a huge nerd/geek/whatever, and I've learned to embrace this side of me as I've grown older. Once upon a time I probably would have scoffed at you and pushed you off of the couch (Inside joke - I once had a boyfriend who thought it was ludicrous that I didn't know who Boba Fett was. He proceeded to make fun of me for my lack of Star Wars knowledge - the one area of geek culture that I've never really gotten into - and he wouldn't cease his jabs. I pushed him off the damn couch for it.), but now I just say "Yeah, I'm a geek. What of it?"

So what about you, reader? Do you have some sort of nerd badge that you tote around in hopes of striking up a random conversation with a fellow geek? Or are you one of those more secretive nerdy types?

Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - To Honor One's Elders

2012-01-27T23:06:00.000-06:00

Every year around this time of year (January 22 through February 12) the people of Azeroth honor their elders. We shouldn't need a specific period of time to honor our elders, for without them there wouldn't be an us, but it is rather nice to get out, see the world, and give respect to those who came before us.

Like most elders, these guys give you goodies in the form of coins for visiting them during the Lunar Festival. These coins can be turned in to certain vendors to get some rather fun items, items that I think any hoarder would love to have in their collection. I'll only be highlighting a few of the items that you can get during this holiday, s if you would like a complete guide on how to find all of the elders and the achievements that you can gain from this event, please visit Wowhead's guide.

Pets
That's right, this year the Lunar Festival comes with pets! Both Alliance and Horde lanterns are BoE and can be purchased for 50 Coins of Ancestry from Valador Starsong in Moonglade.

Lunar Lantern - Alliance
Festival Lantern - Horde

Clothing
All of the clothes may be purchased for 5 Coins of Ancestry each from Valador Starsong in Moonglade.

Festive Green Dress
Festive Pink Dress
Festive Purple Dress
Festive Black Pant Suit
Festive Blue Pant Suit
Festive Teal Pant Suit

Patterns
The following patterns can be purchased from Fariel Starsong in Moonglade for 5 Coins of Ancestry a piece.

Tailoring
Festival Dress
Festival Suit

Engineering
Cluster Launcher
Firework Launcher

The following patterns are contained in packages. Each package contains three patterns and may be purchased from Fariel Starsong in Moonglade for 5 Coins of Ancestry a piece.

Small Rocket Recipes
Small Blue Rocket
Small Green Rocket
Small Red Rocket

Large Rocket Recipes
Large Blue Rocket
Large Green Rocket
Large Red Rocket

Cluster Rocket Recipes
Blue Rocket Cluster
Green Rocket Cluster
Red Rocket Cluster

Large Rocket Cluster Recipes
Large Blue Rocket Cluster
Large Green Rocket Cluster
Large Red Rocket Cluster

Explosives
The following fireworks may be purchased from any of the main Lunar Festival vendors for a very small amount of copper or silver.

Small Red Rocket
Small Blue Rocket
Small Green Rocket
Red Rocket Cluster
Blue Rocket Cluster
Green Rocket Cluster
Festival Firecracker

Elune's Candle can be purchased from Valadar Starsong for 10 silver a piece in Moonglade.

There you have it folks, the super short list of things to collect during the Lunar Festival. As I said, if you'd like a list of achievements and how/where to find the various elders for this event, please visit Wowhead's guide. Now go forth and honor your elders my little hoarders!

Fortune Friday

2012-01-27T01:58:00.000-06:00

Enhanced Leveling: Beginner to Level 10 (Cataclysm)

2012-01-23T00:08:00.001-06:00

A lot has changed with leveling since I first stepped forth in Azeroth as a shaman. Talent trees have changed drastically, gone are the days of multiple spell ranks (running into a healer in the ICC 5 mans using a rank 1 healing spell without realizing it was always a great time), no more totem quests, and of course the whole process is much quicker than it was once upon a time. Without heirloom items and/or the guild leveling perk the process can still feel a bit slow, but the process is still leagues quicker than it used to be.

So what do you need to know while you're leveling up as an enhancement shaman? What talents should you use? What gear do you need to be on the look out for? What in the name of Elune is a totem? I shall try to answer these questions and more within this leveling series. I apologize in advance if I don't cover the levels you need help with right away, for I'm working on this guide as I level up my new shaman alt, Sazza (Nesingwary, Alliance - A big thank you to the guild FuBaR for adopting me!).

Rolling A Shaman: Hurray, you've chosen to roll a shaman! It matters not which faction you choose, for you're already kick-ass for picking this class. Both factions have a few options as far as race is concerned, with each race having its own perks. If you're leveling a shaman just for kicks, it really doesn't matter which race you choose. If you're leveling a shaman with the intention of hardcore raiding at some point, chances are you're already aware of which racials are the best. At the end of the day which race you choose is completely up to you, but you should still be aware of the racials that you're gaining with the race of your choice, and use those special abilities to your advantage. Here's the list:

Alliance
Draenei:Gift of the Naaru and Heroic Presence are the big ones. Gift is a nice heal over time spell (instant cast, super handy for us enhancement types) and Heroic Presence gives us a free 1% hit, which is incredibly handy to have no matter what level you're at.
Dwarf: Stoneform and Mace Specialization are two solid reasons to roll as a Dwarf. Stoneform will not only allow you to reduce your damage taken, but will remove certain damaging effects from you that you'd normally have to suffer/heal through. Having a free 3 expertise from using maces can also come in handy, so long as you can actually find maces to use. It's not uncommon for shamans to use fist weapons and axes, depending on the availability of weapons, so you may not always be able to use the Mace Specialization to your advantage.

Horde
Goblin: Goblins have a fairly large arsenal of useful racials, but the three that would be most handy for leveling (and potentially raiding) are Time is Money, Rocket Jump, and Rocket Barrage. Time is Money acts like a nice little haste buff, helping you to kill things quicker; use it in tight situations where you fear you may die (to kill the enemies quicker or to heal yourself faster) or on mobs with more health, such as elites and bosses. Rocket Jump is a great mobility tool, allowing you to get away from dangerous situations quickly, though if you have a priest or mage or plan on using a parachute anytime soon, best wait to use this ability since it will put those slowing effects on cooldown. Rocket Barrage is another spell for you to blast your foes with. Can be used as another ranged spell, no matter which direction you're facing!
Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, and Hardiness all make for one sexy green shaman. Use Blood Fury to kill things faster. Axe Specialization can come in handy to help you meet expertise caps at max level, though it has some restricted niches much like the Dwarven racial Mace Specialization, due to shamans not always getting to choose to use Axes. Hardiness doesn't have too many applicable uses in a Player vs Environment (PvE) setting, but can come in handy if you ever choose to PvP (Player vs Player).
Tauren: War Stomp is the only active ability for Tauren shaman, and can be quite useful in PvP scenarios since we do not have any sort of stun as enhancement, save for one that we get with our Spirit Wolves at higher levels.
Troll: Berserking is the main on-use talent for the trolls. This spell acts like a personal haste buff. While it's not necessarily the *best* buff currently for enhancement shaman, it can be handy when it comes to self heals and if you offspec as either restoration or elemental. Plus, trolls are just sexy as hell.

There are of course several other racials that come with each race that I have not listed here that can be quite handy to know about/have. If you wish to see those and to learn more about these races, please visit the links provided.

Stats: Agility/Stamina/Hit/Strength - At such a low level these stats will be hard to come by, unless you're lucky enough to have heirloom items. If you can get your hands on leather items/weapons with Agility on them, either through questing or from the Auction House for cheap, do it! A note about Strength items - items with Strength on them are not ideal, Agility is always better. However, there may be times where you run into items that have Agility and Strength, or even just Strength. As long as the item is a solid upgrade, Strength will be okay in a pinch. Do NOT ever roll need on a Strength item over a Strength user (warriors/paladins and later death knights) in instances though.

Gear: Leather/Mail - All shaman will begin with the same statless leather gear, a mace, and a shield. As we kill mobs and complete quests, we will gain more gear. Always choose leather gear when given the option between that and cloth (exception being a cloak, naturally), and when choosing weapons, stick to anything one-handed if possible (shield upgrades are great until level 10). In the rare event that you come across a green quality item, you want to grab an item that has Agility on it if possible. Leather will continue to be our gear type of choice until we're able to specialize in mail, which comes at level 40.

Heirloom Items: These items are not necessary, but they do help speed up the leveling process by a large margin. They require a high level or max capped (level 85) character to obtain on the same realm as the character you wish to send them to (as of patch 4.3). Here is a list of enhancement specific items; please visit the links given to learn how to obtain them.

Currently Purchasable
Helm: Tarnished Raging Berserker's Helm
Shoulders: Prized Beastmaster's Mantle (PvP) / Champion Herod's Shoulder (PvE)
Cloak: Inherited Cape of the Black Baron
Chest: Champion's Deathdealer Breastplate
Weapon(s): Venerable Mass of McGowan (preferably x2 if possible)
Trinket(s): Swift Hand of Justice (x2) - Not the best trinket choices of the lot, but are still rather handy to have.
Ring: Dread Pirate Ring

Items Not Yet in Game
Pants: Tarnished Leggings of Destruction
Ring: Ornate Band of Accuria

Note: All mail items will turn into leather items when you equip them onto your new shaman. They will turn back into mail items once your character has hit level 40 and has trained his or her ability to wear mail.

Spells: Every shaman, no matter which tree he or she wishes to specialize in, begins at the same place. We all start with a shield in hand and only one spell: Lightning Bolt. For the first several levels we get to play the elemental caster, until we learn Primal Strike. Even after we learn our first melee specific spell though, we continue to more or less play an elemental shaman until level 10. At some point during the race to level 10 we also pick up Earth Shock, our first totem Strength of Earth, Healing Wave, and Lightning Shield. Get very familiar with what each of these spells do, for most of these spells an enhancement shaman will use all the way up to their level cap. Spells gained at level 10 that I will talk about in the next guide: Flametongue Weapon and Searing Totem.

Tip: Read all of the tool tips for your spells. Knowing that Earth Shock can help reduce a mob's melee and ranged attack speed (which translates into less damage) on you is handy, as well as knowing which totem gives you which buff!

Totems: Until level 10 we only have one totem, Strength of Earth. Up until this point I have not had much use for it since mobs die so quickly as it is. Since at level 10 I do not yet have Totemic Recall, using this totem could potentially be a hazard in an area with patrolling, hostile mobs, as they will attack it if they walk near it. Unless you pull more than one mob at once, or are having difficulty defeating a certain mob, don't bother with totems for now.

Rotation: Later on in your enhanced experience you will learn about our priority rotation system. For now, however, you have it quite easy. Your rotation at such a low level doesn't matter a great deal, so long as you're hitting mobs quicker and harder than they are hitting you. Spells help in this endeavor. As I've already stated, as a baby enhancement shaman you will feel more like a caster until about level 10 or so. So what does our "caster rotation" look like prior to level 10? Vaguely something like this (starting at range to help prevent some damage to yourself):

Lightning Bolt (x2), Earth Shock, (mobs are usually in range by this time) Primal Strike, Lightning Bolt, Earth Shock (should be dead by now)

You can use Earth Shock and Primal Strike on CD and choose to white swing at the mobs instead of filling the "down time" by spamming Lightning Bolt, but I found Lightning Bolt to kill things a bit quicker. Keep Lightning Shield up, for every time a mob hits you, they hurt themselves!

Tip: Pay attention to your racials (Berserking, Blood Fury, etc) and any perks you may get from the professions that you choose (trinkets, etc), and weave them into your "rotation." Save any survivability cooldowns (Gift of the Naaru, Lifeblood, Stoneform etc) for when you feel you need them. Being aware of what tools you have will make leveling (and not dieing) much easier.

Talents: This isn't something you really need to worry about until you get our first specialty point at level 10. When you do finally hit level 10 in a bright flash of light and achievement, hit the letter N. See that nifty new thing that popped up that gives you the Elemental / Enhancement / Restoration trees? Click "Enhancement". Congrats! You are now officially on your way to be an enhancement shaman. With being enhancement you will gain the following abilities (scroll over each item listed to see the tool tip):

Dual Wielding

Mental Quickness

Primal Wisdom

You will also gain the ability: Lava Lash. This spell is one of our core abilities at 85, so it's very important that you're aware of Lava Lash now. I will go over the usage of this ability more in the next guide.

Another great thing about hitting level 10 is getting your first talent point to spend! Where should you put it? Well, you only have three choices at first. I personally chose to put a point into Focused Strikes, since Primal Strike is fairly week at first, and the other two choices aren't overly strong. Improved Shields could be an okay choice, though Lightning Shield is easy to forget about at a low level, and the effectiveness of Elemental Weapons won't be as noticeable of a damage increase until later levels.

Glyphs: You don't need to worry about glyphs at this level. I will explain these little beasts when the time comes!

Professions: I will only cover this topic twice, now and at level cap (for raiding specifics). As always, professions are a matter of preference. Some professions are better than others for end game, some gathering professions offer better passive buffs for a shaman, learning any of them is a complete matter of choice. Most crafting professions don't matter much these days because of how quickly we level, but in the event that you try to keep your professions at level with your current level I shall mention the topic.

For my leveling project on Sazza I chose to go with Herbalism and Skinning. I am starting on a server where I have no high level alts to fund her, so I figured with double gathering professions I would be able to sell off my wares and be able to buy whatever I needed. I also picked up fishing and cooking for in the event that I feel the need for some more gold making flexibility. If your shaman is well funded though and the choice that you make doesn't really matter to you financially, here is a list what is available. When choosing a profession based on the stat perks it gives, remember that Agility > all, Critical Strike is okay, and Haste isn't terribly great but can be useful while leveling to get those self healing spells out quicker.

Crafting
Alchemy - Make healing and + stat potions. Gives you the ability to craft trinkets at higher levels, including a 359 epic trinket at level 85. Best paired with Herbalism for leveling if you do not already have an herbalist or a large sum of gold.
Blacksmithing - Craft weapons, some mail gear (may or may not be useful for shaman, depending on the levels and stats involved), and yourself two extra gem sockets (wrist and gloves) at higher levels. Best paired with Mining for leveling if you do not have a miner already or a large sum of gold.
Enchanting - Allows you to put extra stats onto your gear. At higher levels will also allow you to add extra stats to your rings. Best paired with any other crafting profession, as long as you have a gatherer to feed the other crafting profession. I find tailoring to be the easiest to pair with Enchanting.
Engineering - A fun and weird profession (one of my personal favorites). Allows you to make situational items (such as bombs and pets), trinkets, and often helms. Allows you to craft an epic 359 helm at level 85. Best paired with mining for leveling if you do not already have a miner or a large sum of gold.
Inscription - Allows you to craft your own glyphs and will gives you shoulder enchant options at higher levels. Sadly learning most glyphs is heavily reliant on an RNG (random number generator) research system. Can potentially make a good sum of gold for those of you savvy with the Auction House. Best paired with Herbalism if you do not already have an herbalist or a large sum of gold.
Jewelcrafting - With this profession you will be able to make some trinkets, along with gaining the ability to cut your own gems. At higher level this profession will allow you to cut higher quality, jewelcrafter only gems. A pretty decent way to make gold, especially if you have a miner. Best paired with mining for leveling if you do not already have a miner, or a large sum of gold.
Leatherworking - You can craft your own gear as you level with this profession. Very handy to have, has a great bracer enchant for you to use at higher levels, plus super cheap leg enchants. Best when paired with Skinning if you do not have another skinner, unless you have a lot of gold to purchase materials with.
Tailoring - This profession allows you to make clothes for classes such as priests and warlocks. Also allows you to make leg enchants for caster-types (restoration, elemental), but in general is not a very useful profession for enhancement shaman. This is a self sufficient profession, provided you collect a lot of cloth or have a large sum of gold to buy cloth from the Auction House with.

Gathering
Herbalism - Enables you to find and "pick" various plants. Great for gathering materials for Inscription and Alchemy and provides you with Lifeblood, an ability that gives you a heal over time spell and a small haste buff (useful for some situations).
Mining - Provides you with the ability to find and mine nodes. Used for gathering materials for Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Jewelcrafting, thus can be profitable. Gives the passive bonus of Toughness, which isn't necessarily the best passive boost for an enhancement shaman as it doesn't give any increase to our damage output.
Skinning - Allows you to skin most beasts. The skins collected can in turn be used for making gear in Leatherworking and in some other situations used in Engineering, Blacksmithing, ect. Gives the passive stat boost of Critical Strike through Master of Anantomy.

Note: All gathering profession perks scale with your skill level.

Secondary
Archeology - You can spend all of your free time digging for long lost artifacts! Digging will give you XP, a chance at rare items (blues, mostly useless but fun items), and a chance at epics (mounts, trinkets, gear, etc). Common and grey quality items can be sold for either small or large amounts of gold, depending on the item. Great time sink, but not terribly great at providing gold or easy epics thanks to the RNG element to this profession.
Cooking - Want to make your own buff food, or a quick bit of gold at max level? Now you can! Grab a cooking fire, some ingredients, and a skillet and get cooking!
First Aid - Allows you to make bandages, which can be used to heal yourself or an ally (is channeled, which can be interrupted by any damage). Not really all that necessary for us shamans, since we're quite capable of healing ourselves and others to a reasonable extent.
Fishing - Grab a pole and catch some fish. Most fish can be cooked into buff foods.

Whew, that's a lot to take in, isn't it? Things get a bit more simplistic once you've chosen your race and (if any) your professions and you familiarize yourself with what tools that they give you. Once you handle that, it's just a matter of remembering which spells do what and making sure that you don't wear spirit based cloth items. Blizzard has done a fairly good job at introducing new shaman to their massive tool kit, but I do realize that it's still a lot to take in and I'll do my best to break everything down as I come to it in depth. Try not to stress out about all this information, most of it will (or should) come naturally to you. Relax and have some fun bonking mobs over the head while electrocuting them!

If you have any questions about this article or enhancement in general, please feel free to either comment here, toss me a message on Twitter, drop a comment on Facebook, or email me.

Inventory Space, Void Storage, and What I Still Long For

2012-01-21T14:00:00.001-06:00

It has been a long, long time since I've tried to finish up Saga's little 20 Days of challenge. I have two posts left, and this one just so happens to tie into something I have a bit of a problem with: inventory space. Since it isn't noted in the title of this post, this is technically day 19 of this project.

As you may notice, my personal bank is rather large and completely full to the brim. Likewise my personal bag space is still a bit limited despite its size, but it is no where near as full as it was prior to patch 4.3. Thanks to the implementation of the new interface feature called Void Storage I now have more than two to three slots available at any given time. (Please note that this is what my personal inventory looks like on a non-raid night; what you don't see in this image are the several stacks of food, flasks, and potions that are more or less a requirement for a raider seeking to push progression content that I typically tote around several nights of the week.)

You can see that in my personal bags are two sets of healing gear (one PvE set, one a now lackluster PvP set) and various fun (no equip) trinkets, engineer items, and a legendary (Sulfuras). Anything that I feel I cannot part with because it's fun, actually useful, or is BoP and will not fit into my bank is kept on hand at all times.

In my bank you will find the items that I currently use for transmogrification, weapons that I didn't want to lose the enchantments on for visual preferences, various trinkets (most that need to be equipped to be used), and some tabards that I cannot buy from a vendor. There are also a few items that I used in Firelands in my bank, as well as a few random pieces that I may use in the future but have no use for at this moment. Mostly though it's just left over "pretty" gear that I cannot part with for (usually) sentimental reasons.

This is my Void Storage. It's absolutely bursting with more weapons, tier, and various other items that I can see myself using in the future to trangmogrify gear with. These are all items that I didn't care about losing old gems and enchants with, that I didn't see myself using for transmogrification anytime soon, or just felt I didn't have the space for in the usual bank for.

Please allow me to sing the praises of the Void Storage addition to the game. It gave me some storage breathing room which was sorely needed. This feature has allowed me to hear less of the vocal emotes "Inventory is full." and "I can't carry anymore!" which honestly, I was getting really fed up with. In Firelands I turned down most healing items simply because I did not have the space. I hardly had enough room to pick up main spec upgrades let alone items for my offset, unless of course they were an upgrade for me to use with my PvP set. Trying to do dailies or farm rep (while looting) was absolutely impossible. My Traveler's Tundra Mammoth was pretty much my only saving grace, for anytime I looted a mob in a raid I had to immediately vendor that grey item to make room for a potential upgrade that I may receive from that next mob. Void Storage has lessened that hassle immensely for me.

Despite the fact that this addition has been amazing in my book, I do wish it had a bit more. A bit more storage, perhaps something that visually sorted things. I'd love to see Void Storage get a few tabs, much like a guild bank. Tab one: Weapons. Tab two: Helms. Tab six: trinkets, and so on. I'm still also craving a tabard system that perhaps works like our pet/title systems (it's not Void Storage related necessarily, but it would free up some more space!). Don't get me wrong, I am exceptionally grateful for our current system, I really am. Without it I would have had to vendor/delete several items that I would rather not part with. I would however love to see Blizzard push this feature and add more to it in the future. Until the day that they decide to do such a thing though, I shall deal and be happy with what I've been given.

Vive le Hoarders!

The Demise of the Raiding Scene

2012-01-17T15:36:00.000-06:00

Dramatic title is dramatic, right? Please allow me to assure you that this isn't some far-fetched "ZOMG WoW is dead!" post, because I personally feel that World of Warcraft is far from dead. It might be a bit lethargic compared to some of the more booming periods that the game has had in its rather lengthy life span, but the numbers show that our beloved game is still far from calling 'closing time'. Let me assure you my Chicken Littles, the sky is not falling. While WoW may be far from ready to close its digital doors, there are some severe issues within the community, or more specifically within the sub communities that we have come to know as guilds.

Let us get something perfectly straight here, the raiding scene is not yet dead. It is in a serious state of decline, but it is not yet dead. May folks will be quick to point the finger at Blizzard and say "This raid is horrible, thanks for killing my guild!" While in some respects Blizzard is responsible for the vibe, the feel, the success or failure of a raid design, I do not believe that it is really anyone's fault but the player's own for the rise and fall of a guild, and in turn the game as a whole.

Think about it. A company can make a great product, put their heart and soul into it, but it is up to the community to play it. Back in the day, Blizzard put out a far from perfect product that we all know today as "Vanilla WoW". It was a grind-fest riddled with bugs and imperfections, but the players sucked it up, adapted, and dealt with it. Today we game in a much different world. Azeroth's major bugs are often sprayed down within a week or two of discovery. Travel to dungeons is instant, graphic quality is slowly improving, and long grinds are no longer really present. In a time where things couldn't be too much better, anything little thing that players do not care for, be it a bug that wasn't fixed on the spot, a raid experiment that flopped, Blizzard's attempts to include everyone in their game (which I think is pretty cool for the record, since inclusion seems to be a rare beast with whatever subject you may speak about), that new tier set or talent change for class x, or whatever other thing you can think of, is often complained about loud and clear. Wading into any sort of WoW forum often reminds me of walking into a store where a mother is trying to deal with a screaming, unwieldy child that isn't getting that lolly pop that he/she wants so damn bad.

What I'm trying to get at here folks is the fact that we, as a community, are suffering from a dual epidemic. Epidemic number one is the "spoiled gamer syndrome" or "entitlement syndrome", which is where many (but not all) players within WoW feel that they need everything and they want it now, everyone else's happiness and convenience be damned. The second epidemic is that of burnout.

Burnout is no stranger to anyone well versed in the Azerothian scene. It can happen to anyone at anytime. It's kind of like getting a new pair of shoes really. At first you slip your feet into them and go "Man, these feel awesome!" and they may continue to feel that way for quite a while. Eventually though they'll wear on your feet, causing blisters (drama) which can heal with time, or maybe they will cause your feet to swell which make that shoe an uncomfortable fit (finding yourself in a guild that you're not really into), or maybe the shoes just lose their appeal all together or give out on you (disinterest in the game, the loss of friends or your raid team which results in disinterest of the game). The best way to try and avoid any of these issues is to wear these shoes in moderation, but sometimes we end up enjoying the walk that we're on far too much to really notice the, metaphorically speaking, pain in our feet until it is too late. Some folks manage to grin and bear it, others will complain about it; eventually all will remove their shoes.

Right now my shoes are fitting pretty good. They fit pretty well, the colorful elements on them keep me entertained, but for some reason my damn shoelaces aren't quite staying tied. To get to the heart of it, my guild is currently struggling.

I haven't wrote about this yet, but about a month and a half ago I applied to a 25 man raiding guild and was accepted. I joined them the second week of Dragon Soul and I haven't looked back. My first raid with them was mind blowing; we had 7-10 people sitting at one point because the raiding roster was bursting, Deathwing was downed for the first time that week, banter was amazing. It was a complete culture shock to the usual low key, almost no one speaks in vent, 10 man raiding team that I was used to. I loved and am still loving it. The holidays hit. Nearly every holiday brings along a bit of an attendance slump, no big deal. Punch one. SW:ToR launches and naturally there's a good chunk of interest of that within the our nerdverse, again no big deal. Left hook, punch two. Progression slows because of a sparse raiding roster, tempers rise because regular modes are apparently "too easy" but we don't have enough of the right bodies for a proper raid composition to take down heroic modes, people finally notice their burnout and quite. Sucker punch, hit three. Throw all those factors together and you have one hurting guild. We're not dead by any means, but our raiding rosters have been looking mighty sickly as of late.

My guild is not alone.

Is this type of situation something that Blizzard can fix? Sure, if they had a magic wand that allowed them to make every single person happy forever. Sarcasm aside, Blizzard can only fix the mechanics of WoW. I personally think that they should stick to their guns a bit more with what they do, do what they think is right for the game, and stop this craziness where they try to cater to every single last gamer's whim. You can't please everyone. Should they take suggestions? Sure, but they don't have to try to tack on every single idea to the game itself. Sometimes less really is more, and right now it feels like Azeroth is one hell of a clutter closet.

What really needs to be fixed about WoW is the general mentality of the gaming community. We don't need the addition of shiny new graphics (though, I know I wouldn't turn them down), nor do we need some crazy new gimmick to pull us in. No, we need a serious revamp of the general attitude. If Blizzard is going to play parent to their public, they need to put on their mommy/daddy pants and learn to be a bit more stern and consistent with how they do things.

Until Blizzard does that though, the community itself needs to take charge in order to get the change that I think is desperately needed. Here's a few things that I think individuals could do that would help with that change.

- If you're tired of playing the game, then take a break. Don't put a time limit on this break; only come back when you want to. Be responsible with this, especially if you are a raider. Give your raid leader a week or two head's up so that they may begin to look for a replacement. Vanishing without a trace and leaving your raid/guild hanging is never a cool thing to do.
- Don't throw your unhappiness into the faces of your peers. If you dislike the game for x and y reason, that's fine, however reasons x and y do not give you a badge that entitles you to try and ruin the game for others.
- Don't flaunt the fact that you "quit" the game and don't run around screaming "OMG THE PANDAS ARE COMING! WOW IS DEAD!!!1!" because it's obnoxious and we're all tired of hearing it; hearing these things make the rest of us grouchy. We don't want to be grouchy, we want to enjoy the game that helps us get away from it all. Really though, we get it. You don't want Pokemon and Pandarans. Last time I checked everyone groaned about Death Knights, Worgen, Blood Elves, Draenei, and pretty much every other major implement to the game. Most seem fine with those additions now. It's okay to have new elements and lore come into play.
- Enjoy your time in Azeroth. If your guild weighs down on you and you find yourself not enjoying the company that you're in, make a change. Most people do not change, but changing the environment you reside in is always an option. There is no reason to be loyal to something that makes you miserable; it's unhealthy and misery tends to breed more misery.
- You know that old saying of "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"? Embrace it. We all get snarky from time to time and it can be a riot to pick on that warlock in LFR who is doing 4k dps, but for as "fun" as these things can be, it's honestly all just unnecessary negativity. Differences of opinions happen, try to learn something from another person's viewpoint. That lock pulling 4k dps? Maybe it's their first 25 man raid since the middle of Wrath and they had no idea that they'd drop to 2fps during the Ultraxion encounter. If you don't know the situation, or even if you do, don't throw more negativity into the mix. It doesn't help or fix anything.
- Be a positive influence in your environment. Let me give an example. If a "noob" asks a question in General or Trade chat and is only met with trolling, reach out and give him/her a legit answer. If someone whispers you about how they can improve their character, give them some helpful advice, or if you honestly don't know perhaps point them in the direction that they can find the information that they seek. Be helpful, don't be a tool.

Do I ever see the community as a whole embracing even a few of my view points? Not really. I think at this point we are stuck in a really nasty cycle of negativity breeding negativity, and after dealing with it so long most folks are simply walking away because it's easier to do that than to fix the issues at hand. People are tired. They're tired of the same old dramas, they're tired of the stagnation that comes with (in my case a very old) server-based communities, they're tired because they've been playing the same game for 4/5/6/7+ years and may no longer hold the same charm for them that it once did. LFG/LFR is not killing the community and Blizz isn't actively trying to do harm to the community (it would be bad business on their part to do so; they really are trying to make it a better place for us all despite what certain experimental flops may look like). Simply put the community is wearing on the community. The best prevention that we have is to take care of ourselves, do better for ourselves and others, and hope that others follow suit. More positivity, more lending a helping hand, less crying and moaning about not getting our own way all the time. Burnout will happen to everyone at some point, and those folks will come back if they have a community that they actually want to return to. Perhaps if we all do our part, we can rekindle that community, that place where everyone wants to hangout, once again.

While the end of Azeroth isn't quite nigh, it will happen eventually. Raiding will not cease forever tomorrow, our friends will not disappear suddenly into the shadows of memory, but it will happen someday. In the end though that's okay, because every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Operation Overkill

2012-01-15T11:14:00.000-06:00

I am, if you haven't figured this out by now, someone who likes her projects. Often these projects are me biting off far more than I can chew, and naturally this leads to many things being left unfinished, or left to be finished at a much later date than planned.

Currently I have two major projects left unfinished on my shaman: Loremaster and Insane in the Membrane. Unfortunately I'm stuck on Loremaster until I raise my goblin rep for the Insane, at least to the point where the goblins decide that I'm no long a 'kill on sight' target. While I hope to achieve both of these titles prior to Mists of Pandaria, I am once again dragging my heels and looking for ways to procrastinate. Which brings me to my next big distracting project: Operation - Pimp My Alt.

O-PMA is more or less what it sounds like. I currently have 7 85s and I'd like to raise that number to 10 before MoP releases. Not only do I want to raise that number, but I'd like to get all of my alts into 378 or better gear in at least their main specs, if not their alt specs as well. Why would I do this? Simply put, some aspects of me lean towards being a completionist and I absolutely hate that I have all of these incomplete alts.

I know that this plan seems pretty far fetched, especially when you factor in the fact that I still will be writing from time to time on both blogs, hope to remain at least semi active in certain forums (which I've been failing at lately), raid full time on at least my shaman, keep my druid up to par, and achieve both of the time consuming titles mentioned previously.

So how far do I have to go? Well, let's just say I have a LOT of work ahead of me, but let me lay out where I stand right now. Here's a fairly complete list of all the projects that I've put onto my plate, at least in game.

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Saz - Raiding full time (2-3 days a week). Loremaster: Eastern Kingdoms/Outland Complete, a few zones in Kalimdor left to complete (mostly the areas involving goblins), most zones in Northrend 2/3 complete, Vashjir left to complete in Cataclysm. Insane: Goblin reps (most still hated after Bloodsail Admiral was obtained), Darkmoon Faire (revered), Ravenholt (honored).

Kelebek - 378 gearing complete, though I have been running LFR for filler pieces and heroics to cap her Valor Points.

Warlock - 378 gearing nearly complete. Just need helm, neck, shoulders, and a trinket. Number output needs tweaking.

Priest - 378 shadow gearing nearly complete. Just need shoulders, cloak, a trinket, and a ring. Disco is a bit up in the air. Dps number output needs some tweaking.

Hunter - 378 gearing complete. Still running some heroics and/or LFR so that she may buy Kelebek boots. Dps number output needs some tweaking.

Death Knight - 378 gearing is far from complete. Dps numbers are okay despite gear. Currently sporting a mix of dps and tank gear. Would like both sets for instances (dps) and soloing (tank).

Paladin - 378 gearing has hardly begun. Currently a mix of greens, blues, and easy to gain epics for her ret spec. Holy set is mostly questing items (greens) and a few 333s. Needs Magister's Terrace for her Orb of Sin'dorei (tradition for me). Must research proper use of CDs, but numbers are okay

Rogue - Level 70. Must level cap and gear while continuing to pick pocket so that my shaman may get her Insane title.

Warrior - Level 45. Must level cap and at least gear for arms or fury.

Mage - Level 40. Must level cap and gear up for at least arcane since I have no plans to ever raid her.

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The plan for O-PMA is to go down my list of alts and dedicate a week (drop luck permitting of course) to their gearing and to the research/practice of my skills with their particular spec/class (more than likely dps only). I ultimately hope cut down on my impulsive "need" to run half a billion heroics while still trying to squeeze in LFRs, actual raiding, and real life shenanigans like eating and sleeping. If I finish an alt early in the week, the rest of my play time will be dedicated towards the various reputation grinds that my shaman still needs. With some luck I hope that this project will not only be successful, but a fun way to get to know the various classes in my arsenal.

I know that it sounds like I'll be playing 24/7, but rest assured that I will be trying to make sure that it isn't quite as hectic as it sounds and that I will be taking plenty of time away from the game to read my books and watch various TV shows on Netflix. I'll be doing my best to not burn myself out on the game, since I would like to continue to play it for a long time yet.

Outside of O-PMA and my various blogging projects, I plan on beginning a few soloing adventures on Saz, mainly Wrath of the Lich King content if possible. I'm not quite sure how far I'll get with this venture, but it should be interesting to see what I can down now as enhancement. If things go well, I hope to write up a few quick guides on soloing Wrath bosses, and maaaaybe videos of me completing such antics if I can find a damn editing program that will work for me. On top of that, I hope to write more enhancement based guides in general, though that's a bit of a different topic!

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So what do you thing, am I absolutely insane? Do you have any crazy goals like this that you're hoping to pull off before the next expansion is upon us?

Fortune Friday

2012-01-13T11:26:00.001-06:00

Heroic Morchok: Tips for the Enhancement Shaman

2012-01-10T03:53:00.003-06:00

You've done it! Your guild has defeated Deathwing on regular mode and now you all want to jump back to a time when the Wyrmrest Temple was still crawling with baddies, though this time around you intend to make terrible jokes about the bosses' mothers in order to make your encounter with them more difficult. By this I mean that you and your guild are looking for a more challenging Dragon Soul raid, heroic style.

What can you do as an enhancement shaman to help your raid succeed with taking down Morchok and his evil twin, Kochrom? There are plenty of little things that you can do to help out your healers while still maintaining the pressure on the boss you're assigned to. Enhancement does very well with this fight, and thus far the only classes that have been beating me out on damage have been those buggery rogues that are able to cloak their way out of the Black Blood damage. If you play your cards right, you'll be well on your way to topping the charts as well.

This "guide" is done under the assumption that you are already aware of how the mechanics differ between normal and heroic modes. If you'd like a text guide to help you along, please visit the guide over on Icy-Veins. With that said, I shall now try to lay down some tips and tricks for you all that I've been using.

You (Optional Ideas)
~ Spec ~
No fancy changes need to be made to your spec for this encounter.

~ Glyphs ~
I suggest considering trading out Glyph of Windfury Weapon for Glyph of Feral Spirit for this encounter. The reason behind this is two fold. 1) In the rare event that wolves come off of cooldown just before a Black Blood phase, your wolves will have increased damage on the boss as you're running away. 2) The higher AP of your wolves will increase your self healing, giving your healers a nice little break in what is a very healing intensive encounter.

If you have other nature resist buffs present (Mark of the Wild and Blessing of Kings for example), you may consider switching out Glyph of Healing Stream for Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem and begin to practice some minor "totem twisting" (dropping Stoneclaw for a moment to gain the shield buff, then switching back to your earth totem of choice) to help alleviate some damage to yourself if your healers are struggling.

~ Totems ~
Fire - Good ole Searing Totem.

Water - Healing stream totem, unless you don't have a paladin giving Blessing of Might or a Warlock in your group rocking the Fel Hunter, giving your group Fel Intelligence. In the rare event that you don't have a mana generation buff, use Mana Stream Totem.

Air - Windfury Totem (your casters should hopefully have the haste buff from either the Wrath of Air Totem from another shaman or from a shadow priest or moonkin)

Earth - There are three choices for this totem, one of which is temporary. Strength of Earth is our default totem, but isn't needed so long as there is a hunter with a cat (Roar of Courage) in proximity to us, a death knight using Horn of Winter, or a warrior using their Battle Shout. If the strength/agility buff is present, but there isn't another shaman nearby dropping Stoneskin Totem or a paladin with the Devotion Aura up, use Stoneskin Totem to help reduce some of the physical damage from the stop that the bosses do via increased armor. The third choice would be to twist in Stoneclaw totem to put a damage bubble on ourselves, and then switching back to either our SoE or SS totem.

For more information on totems and the glyphs that modify them, please see my guide on totems and their uses, which can be found here.

~ Heroism/Blood Lust ~
Save this buff until the last 20% or so of the bosses' health bars. Pop it right after a Black Blood phase has ended and everyone is once again positioned (do not pop it just before a Black Blood phase, I don't care if he's right at 20%...much more beneficial to everyone to wait on it for both healing and dps purposes). If your wolves are not up right when the time comes to Hero/Lust and you have a mage or another (preferably dps, since a resto may be tight on mana at this point) shaman in your group, consider having them pop the buff so that you may use yours on your wolves later on.

**Please note that Hero/Warp/Lust will not likely reach both groups at the end of the encounter. Each group needs their own separate haste buff. 10 man groups will have to take this into consideration as they set up the two groups.**

The Pull
Pre-pot as usual.

Open up your rotation as usual, with possible one adjustment. If you're assigned to stay on Morchok, feel free to pop your wolves right away and continue to use them as they come off of cooldown. If you're assigned to Kochrom, save them until he arrives into his designated position (or at least until your Kochrom tank has sufficient threat on him).

The Encounter
There are only a few minor things that change between the normal and heroic mode. For the most part for us it is still very much a tank and spank fight with a minor "get out of the bad" phase mixed in. Here are a few tips on how to maximize your dps while lowering your damage intake.

1) Learn to max distance the boss. Us mail wearing types can NOT eat the double stomp damage. Leave that to your crafty rogue friends or the dudes in plate. Please note that this gets a bit tricky, for the boss WILL shrink as the encounter goes on. Just be aware of how far you are from the boss while still being able to hack into his butt and you should be fine.

2) Ghost Wolf form is your friend. Glyph it, bind it, use it, love it. It will get you away from the boss faster in the Black Blood phase, help you get back to the boss after the Black Blood Phase has ended, and in the event that you find yourself having to soak some Resonating Crystal, it allows you to sit on the boss a second longer, get to the crystal, go boom (stay on the front side towards the boss, it'll knock you in his direction), and get you back to doing what you do.

3) Shamanistic Rage is your friend. During stomps or during crystal damage (assuming that for some odd reason you're having to run out to eat crystal damage) is a prime time to bust out this ability. Use it a few ticks before Morchok/Kochram have their stompy fit and your healers will love you. You'll only be able to use this ability once out of the four times they stomp in between Black Blood phases, so try to time it for when healer/raid tank CDs feel the weakest.

4) Racials are your friend. Are you a Dwarf or Draenei? If you're a Dwarf, you have another damage reduction CD to weave in by the name of Stoneform. For example you may want to use SR on stomp two and Stoneform on stomp four. If you're a Draenei, perhaps use SR on one of the stomps and then use Gift of the Naaru after another has occurred. Sure GotN seems to do beans for healing, however every little bit helps, especially on a first kill. (Sorry Horde, I'm not terribly familiar with your racials. You're all smart folk though, you can figure it out!)

5) Black Blood Phase - There is NO reason for you to sit on the outside of the earth fragments like an awkward looking lawn ornament. While your boss is casting Earthen Vortex, you should be swiveling your camera around, looking for the best set up of earth fragments to hide behind. Be on the look out for two or more spikes that are near enough together to provide adequate coverage from the Black Blood while not completely line of sighting you from the boss. Aim yourself in the direction of your coverage target, shift into ghost wolf the second he drops the raid, and make for your safe spot like your ghostly tail is on fire. Once you've safely arrived at your intended destination, go into caster mode. Unleash your weapon, cast your shocks, throw Lava Bursts at him when it's off cooldown, and spam the hell out of Lightning Bolt. Is it ideal? Nope, being ideal would be us being able to completely mitigate the Black Blood damage all together like our rogue brothers and sisters. It does however continue to put damage up on the boss, which is vital to beating the enrage timer.

Once this phase has ended, shift back into your puppy form and make a run for the boss. You then may resume your usual tank and spank tom foolery.

6) Healing isn't something that we should be doing very often (ideally never, but things can and do happen), but if you're sporting any variation of the T13 that gives you a set bonus, your healing spells have increased effect (2pc) and if your puppies are out, you're popping Maelstrom stacks like candy anyhow (4pc). Missing out on a Lightning Bolt is more than acceptable if it helps your healers out in a pinch. Drop a Healing Rain on the melee group during a stomp (ranged will be chilling with you then anyhow), throw an emergency heal on a player, do what you gotta do to help prevent a wipe. Just don't be spamming your Jesus Beams at everyone and their brother every time you get a stack of Maelstrom just because you can.

The Home Stretch (sub 20%)
This is the point where both bosses get Furious. Hero/Lust/Warp is rolling, what more can you do? Well, assuming that you pre-potted properly, this is the ideal time to be using that second potion. Likewise, this is the portion of the fight where it is exceptionally important that you are rolling defensive cooldowns. More than likely your wolves will be up during this phase, and this is really where switching out that glyph comes in handy. Having more self heals rolling on yourself lets the healers focus their mana more on keeping those tanks up through the increased damage, as well as just making it easier for them to take care of the chaos that is the last bit of this fight.

If you do your job correctly as an enhancement shaman (and of course, provided that the other 9 or 24 people you are raiding with do their jobs as well), you should have yourself some heroic loot in no time!

Heroic Loots
So the boss is dead and some stuff dropped that has agility on it. What's good for us, and what should be passed on?

Seal of Primordial Shadow - A ring that has a chance to drop off of Morchok, Zon'ozz, Yor'sahj, Hagara, and Warmaster Blackhorn. Best in slot item.

Vial of Shadows - A trinket that has a chance to drop off of Morchok, Zon'ozz, Yor'sahj, Hagara, and Warmaster Blackhorn. Best in slot item.

Sporebeard Gauntlets - Glove that drop off of Morchok. Can be used as an offset piece, but is better itemized for hunters by far. BiS gloves for enhance would be our tier gloves. These could be a viable off piece until you manage to land your heroic tier gloves because of the double red sockets, but ultimately this item is meant for hunters due to the lack luster secondary stats. Pass in my opinion, unless they sim out to be better than what you have with your personal set up.

Final Tips
Clear out a bit more of the trash on both sides than you think you'll need to. It sucks something fierce to get sub 5% on the boss only to have a crystal spawn a bit too close to a pack of mobs, having the ranged accidentally pull said mobs, and wipe the raid. Always be on the safe side, or you will more than likely be sorry.

Separate the two Morchok and Kochram groups in Ventrilo/Mumble. Once Morchok is below 90% health, the fight is essentially two different fights. To prevent confusion between the use of healing and tank cooldowns of the two groups, separate channels is advised. During this fight only two things need to be coordinated between the two groups, Heroism/Blood Lust and the calling of a wipe. Both of those things can be done efficiently through raid warnings.

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I hope that those of you who have read this post walk away with something that helps you in your journey to defeat the Heroic Morchok encounter. If you feel that any of the information in this post is incorrect, or you have something to add, please leave a comment!

Good luck and have fun!

Respect (Fanfic Doodles)

2012-01-08T10:15:00.000-06:00

The dark skinned Draenei woman grabbed her young male companion by one of his facial tendrils, pulling him into a side ally way and threw him against a wall.

"That is NOT how a proper person acts, in public or in private."

"Who do you think you are? My father paid good coin to have me tutored by you, and yet you sit here lecturing me how to treat some low life on the street." The younger Draenei rubbed his bruising, pale tendril as he glared furiously at his female instructor.

"Your insolence to every being you come across is appalling, Valann." She squared her shoulders and looked her pupil in the eye. "You want to know why your father chose me? Then I shall tell you, for you apparently have neglected your history books."

With a dark hand she motioned for her student to follow her as they made their ways through the crowed market streets of Stormwind.

"I am a veteran warrior, hardened by years of fighting on fields and in citadels. With axes in hand and the elements at my call, with spirits to guide me and fellow fighters by my side, I have waged war against those who would cause harm to the helpless. Along side the Horde and Alliance alike I have battled the Old Gods, nightmares, the walking dead, and demons; I've seen patchwork monstrosities, fought creations made by the Titans, and laid to rest the restless souls of a thousand liches and banshees. I have seen horrors that not even your wildest nightmares can come up with, young one. I have heard the maddening whispers of the Old Gods. I have been driven mad, only to somehow find my way back again."

The youth rolled his eyes. His instructor pretended to not notice the slight.

"Truth be told Valann, most of the scars that you see upon my flesh are older than your father. The elements have been heading my call for far longer than you have been a twinkle in your devoted father's eye. While this fact may have never crossed your mind, I actually happen to know a thing or two about how things in this world - as well as a few other worlds - work."

"Yeah, I get it. You're some hot-shot shaman warrior."

With a quick flick of the wrist the shaman snatched the young Draenei's ear. "You apparently don't get it. Time and time again you show no respect towards those around you." She released him with a jerk. "In all my years as an ambassador, dealing with the bickering between the different races of Azeroth, I have hardly seen the sort of disrespect that you continue to show me and your fellow beings time and time again. At least if the Horde showed disrespect towards a member or group of the Alliance, they had a damn good reason behind it."

The pair had made it down to the Stormwind harbor. In silence they descended the ramps that lead down to the docks. With a straight back and an air of having been offended, the dark skinned Draenei led her charge to the end of the dock where a ship would arrive to take them to Northrend. Together they stood quietly while time passed them by.

"Father never said anything about you being an ambassador to the Horde."

"It isn't your father's job to tell or teach you everything. Open up your eyes and ears boy, and opening a book now and again wouldn't hurt you either."

Several long minutes passed the pair by.

"Tell me Ambassador...is the Lady Sylvanas...attractive?"

His instructor gave him a look that would have caused a earthen elemental to spontaneously burst into flames. "You are a vile, crass creature, Valann of the Exodar. It really is a wonder that the Naaru, for as forgiving with our people as they may be, have yet to smite you down." Despite wanting to remain stern with the youth and having a deep desire to further reprimand him, she smiled and gave a little laugh. "You really are a damnable beast. Perhaps we shouldn't even bother with this little journey, I doubt you'd bother to listen to half of what I say while we're there anyways." She made a gesture of defeat and turned to walk back towards the city. "I know a lost battle when I see one."

Valann's instructor made it about half way down the dock before he chased her down. "Wait! Forgive me, I was out of line."

The shaman turned to her pupil, eyeing him suspiciously. "Changed your mind about proper behavior, have you?"

"I'd like to go to Northrend with you," mumbled the youth.

"Hmm? What was that? I guess these old ears just are not as sharp as they used to be."

"I'd still like to go to Northrend with you, if that's okay." The young Draenei hung his head as he said this, cautiously looking up at his chaperone as he spoke.

A bell tolled off in the distance; their ship had arrived.

The instructor turned her dark face turned towards the ship, deep thought and consideration wrinkled her forehead. She turned her gaze back to her charge.

"Very well."

Together they walked the distance back to where the great ship was docked. The vessel was a massive, wooden beast with a gigantic water wheel attached to its stern. The central mast was huge, rope ladders created spider-like patterns on the deck, and the whole dock seemed to come alive as the deckhands moved goods to and from the port in preparation of the next voyage.

"Names and titles, if you please." stated a uniformed crew member.

"This is Valann of the Exodar, son of Diplomat Kalind the Exalted. I am Saz, diplomat of the Alliance and ambassador to the Horde. I am an explorer of Azeroth, a Professor and Loremaster in training. I am an Avenger of Hyjal; I am of the Nightfall. I am the Undying, the Patient, Champion of the Frozen Wastes as well as an Argent Champion. I am a Guardian of Cenarius, a matron, a merrymaker, a Kingslayer. I fancy myself to be a brewmaster as well as a chef. I am Saz the Noble, the Hallowed, Flame Warden, and the Exalted. Bloodsail Admiral, Crusader, the Destroyer's End. Some call me "Salty" while others long to call me "the Insane." I am an Elder and I wish to take my charge aboard this ship and sail to the frigid wastes of Northrend to teach him how the ways of frozen path of arrogance will end for him."

The look upon the official's face was one of awe; Valann's white face greyed and then turned a shameful shade of red.

"Welcome aboard Ambassador. I wish you a happy journey north."

Together the pair boarded their ship and without a word they waited in the galley for their boat to leave port and for dinner to be served; one sat in a quiet reverie while the other remained in silent understanding.

Saz allowed herself a little smirk as she watched her pupil quietly stare off into the abyss. In a way she almost felt bad for the youth. For as hard as an exterior he put on, she could easily see nervous jitters boiling within his blood. For once he wasn't off harassing someone, catching some poor soul unaware with his brash and cruel behaviors. She decided that perhaps he wasn't untrainable after all. Still, the tales and trials of Northrend would more than likely be enough to see if this boy had the soul and backbone capable of handling such things as government or battle.

The sun's light was hardly visible through the tiny port windows by the time Valann finally plucked up the courage to speak.

"Is...is Ysera as attractive in her human form as they say she is?"

The look that flashed across the shaman's face would have caused a fire elemental to wish it were stone.

Spirits, give me strength.

Fortune Friday

2012-01-06T04:34:00.000-06:00

Resolutions

2012-01-01T04:56:00.001-06:00

For the record, I am terrible with making resolutions. Long have I given up trying to make promises that I cannot keep. As it turns out I'm a pretty terrible liar, even to myself. So in general I strive to always keep one thing in mind, even in moments where it seems absolutely impossible to do so: stay positive. Doesn't always work, but I suppose that is why I chose the word 'strive' instead of the phase 'this is what I always do.' I guess it has something to do with being an imperfect human, or something.

Anyways, random story time. As I was streaming tonight a broadcast popped up in my chat box from Xfire. It wasn't a warning about behavior, nor was it a message about them having to do maintenance on anything. No, it was simply a sweet message from the Xfire team wishing its users a Happy New Year. I thought I'd share this message with you all since I couldn't have come up with better words myself for this occasion.

"Let this new year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you have always wanted to do but could not find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you think you can not keep. Walk tall, and smile more. Do not be afraid to say, I love you. They are the sweetest words in the world. Happy New Year!"

I can't promise to do any of these things personally, for it could end up being a promise that I may unknowingly (or possibly knowingly) break, but I think everything in that message is something to strive for. There's never harm in trying to go after the positive things in life.

To new relationships, new friends, new guilds, new jobs and new beginnings. To better health and better luck. To new projects, new ambitions, and new adventures. May your well of inspiration and hope never run dry, and may this year rock harder than the last.

Cheers.

Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - Winter Veil

2011-12-25T00:29:00.000-06:00

Hello fellow hoarders! We find ourselves once again on the eve of Christmas. Presents have been wrapped, the eggnog is flowing...oh no, what is that? You've been missing out on the Feast of Winter Veil in Azeroth?! Fret not, dear hoarder of goods and achievements, I have just the link for you.

For those of you who are unaware, Wowhead has for the past few months been putting out amazing guides for each Azerothian holiday. Naturally the guide for the Feast of Winter Veil has been no exception. I'd honestly feel like a mockingbird if I simply repeated all of the amazing information that you can find in that post, so I shan't. Instead I will be highlighting some of the pets and mounts that you, dear hoarder, may take interest in.

Pets
Lump of Coal - Never, ever have I wanted a lump of coal so badly. Everyone, meet Lumpy. You can find him in a Stolen Present*, which you receive after having completed the quest You're a Mean One... Lumpy has roughly a 3% drop rate and refuses to show up in my stocking. Bah humbug!

Clockwork Rocket Bot - This was originally a present only available to those who looted it from under the tree in 2007. Now randomly available to those who bother with getting the Stolen Presents! The Feat of Strength awarded to those who received this pet in 2007 seems to also apply to those receiving the pet for the first time this year.

Blue Clockwork Rocket Bot - If you don't receive this fella this year in your Stolen Present, fret not! He also has a chance to drop from the Satchel of Exotic Mysteries and you can purchase him from a toy vendor near you (Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and Dalaran respectively).

Green Helper Box - A classic Azeroth Christmas pet. This guy may be found under the tree on Christmas day in a Gaily Wrapped Present. 25% chance to receive him.

Red Helper Box - A classic Azeroth Christmas pet. This guy may be found under the tree on Christmas day in a Gaily Wrapped Present. 25% chance to receive her.

Snowman Kit - A classic Azeroth Christmas pet. This guy may be found under the tree on Christmas day in a Gaily Wrapped Present. 26% chance to receive it.

Jingling Bell - A classic Azeroth Christmas pet. This guy may be found under the tree on Christmas day in a Gaily Wrapped Present. 25% chance to receive it.

Mounts
Sadly, there aren't any collectable mounts for this holiday. If you'd like to make your mount more festive though, you may do that! Go kiss a Winter Reveler and they will award you with either Fresh Holly (which will turn your mount into a reindeer), Mistletoe, or a Handful of Snowflakes.

Items of Note
MiniZep Controller - Much like the Clockwork Rocket Bot from 2007, this item was only obtainable in 2010. It's available this year once again and can be randomly found in a Stolen Present. It will only fly in areas where flying is permitted, and will allow you to duke it out with other MiniZeps and Steam Tonk Controllers!

Miniature Winter Veil Tree - While my rogue is only level 70, she was ecstatic to receive not one, but TWO of these bad boys from my shaman this year. This little dagger may be found in a Stolen Present and has roughly a .9% drop rate.

Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater - Oh no, Great Aunt Myrtle did it again. She knitted us all our very own holiday sweaters. This item may be found under a Winter Veil tree near you beginning the 25th of Decemeber. If it itches too much, you may give it to the goblins for 5g and an achievement called Thanks, But No Thanks.

While there are plenty of other items to list, such as the rather decent sized list of available recipes for you crafting collectors, I think I shall end this post here. I must get to sleep shortly after all since I'm expecting Greatfather Winter to show up at any moment. As I stated at the beginning of this post, please check out Wowhead's complete guide to Winter Veil 2011 if you're craving a much more in depth list for each and every obtainable Christmas-related item.

May your stockings be lumpy with coal, your plates filled with gingerbread men, and your glasses of whatever beverage you choose never run dry. Happy Holidays all!

*Stolen Presents may contain one to two items plus 26-27 Justice Points.

2011 Blizzard Global Writing Contest - Saz's Entry

2011-12-19T14:36:00.001-06:00

Many of you by now are well aware that today Blizzard finally announced the winners to the 2011 Global Writing Contest. This was my first year participating in the event and while I had my hopes set high, I unfortunately did not even gain a mention. That's okay though! I now have a reason to tweak and improve upon my writing so that I may do better next year. A huge congrats to all of the winners, among of which is the blogging world's own Catulla from Flavor Text (there are a few others, but sadly I'm not terribly familiar with them, congrats anyways)!

Since I am not a finalist or an honorable mention, I believe that I'm free to post my entry here for you all to read. After re-reading it months after I submitted it, I can see areas that could have used some heavy tweaking. There is also a rather saucy scene that I omitted in the entry, one that I've heavily debated on adding in when I made this public to you all. I'm going to be a lazy bastard though and make you all use your imaginations. I hope you enjoy the post!

*******

Somewhere in the hidden northern regions of the Eastern Kingdoms...

Trinity entered her home quietly on leather shod feet. The lights were dimmed, the fire lit in the hearth, and a felhound named Nheegrom lay snoozing on a rug in the corner of the room. In front of the fire sat two high backed chairs; one was vacant and the other occupied. Trinity quietly tossed a large sack of coins into the empty seat and walked over to her dozing lover. Gently she crawled into her lap, straddling her. Tesha smiled lazily as Trinity kissed her with a tenderness that no one would have ever expected the pair to be capable of.

"Have you brought me home treasures, my love?"

"All that and more." Trinity's rich, dark brown eyes gazed into Tesha's lighter brown pair. "I have brought you gold from the pockets of royalty, silver jewelry laden with pearls from the pirate ships of Booty Bay, and gems from the banks of Stormwind itself."

Tesha's luscious lips curved into a lazy, greedy smile. "My provider, my hero." She wrapped her arms around her partner's slim waist, closing her eyes again with a sigh. "I wasn't expecting you back tonight. The weather sounds dreadful out there."

"Nothing but wind for now, but I suspect that we'll be getting the rain and lightning soon enough. I had to run Shadden a bit hard to beat the storm, but I think the stallion will live."

"If he passes there's always Lux."

"I haven't the time nor talent for dealing with demonic steeds like you do, love." Trinity placed a gentle kiss on Tesha's pale brow and stood. The demon in the corner raised his head and let out a little huff of annoyance. "Present company excluded of course." The rogue walked over to Nheegrom and gave his head a stroke. Pleased with being recognized at last, the felpup yawned and returned to his sleeping state.

Moving around quietly, as she had a habit of doing, Trinity set about unpacking her saddle bags. "Anything exciting happen while I was away?"

The warlock took a moment to respond. With her head leaning on her hand and her eyes half closed, she simply said "Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Nothing that the minions and I couldn't handle."

"What sort of this and that?"

"The priests came banging on the door again, screaming about hellfire and demons and sin. They shook their books at me, condemned us, tried to scare me out of town. As if they really knew about the first thing about demons and hellfire." Tesha snorted. "Foolish mind games, all of it."

"I see. And you dealt with them how exactly?"

"They wanted demons and hellfire, I showed them demons and hellfire."

The rogue couldn't help but smile to herself. The whole reason why she loved Tesha was for her spitfire, spunk, and remorseless attitude towards anyone who didn't suit her. She was ruthless and, by the Light, when you got her worked up, she was intoxicating.

The warlock sighed and worked her way out of the overstuffed chair. Having nothing to do besides chase off the occasional holy roller while her partner was away meant that she did little else but eat and study her demonology books. Her waistline was starting to show the physical neglect. Enviously she eyed up her slender companion. As always she was lithe, toned, and oh so perfect in every physical way. Tesha couldn't help but wrap her arms around her partners waist once again, kissing her neck as she did so.

"Tell me about your adventures." She said as she nuzzled Trinity's neck.

Lovingly the rogue reached up and touched Tesha's face. "There were dashing men, pirates, booze, women in full length dresses covered in diamonds. Mansions, ghettos, swamps and deserts. All beautiful, all wonderful, but none so wonderful as this cabin and you." Pivoting around to be face to face with her partner, Trinity wrapped her arms around Tesha's neck. While she kissed the warlock deeply she adorned Tesha with a stunning diamond necklace which showcased a giant ruby.

Tesha gasped and touched the jewel. "Where did you find such a thing?"

"A proper thief never tells." Her wicked grin responded to Tesha's stunned one.

"It's lovely."

"Only the best for me and mine, love."

Oh how she had missed her lover's voice, her sassy presence. Tesha had always been a sucker for a Gilnean accent, but when that accent mixed with Trinity's deep, rich voice...the sound was absolutely divine to her ears. It was a weakness that she held for her since they first teamed up on that mission all those years ago.

Trinity turned back to the task of unpacking her travel bags while Tesha found herself deep in thought. As she touched the pretty thing that laid about her neck, she wandered over to the fireplace and mused. Ten years, almost to the cold, fall day. Ten years it had been since they first touched lips, eight since the paladins of Stormwind found out about their affair and they had yet to pry their love apart. They tried, oh did they ever try. They sent priests to smite the fear of the Light into their hearts, they put the novice paladins who were freshly initiated into the Stormwind Guard on the job of cleansing their spirits, they sent a small platoon of warriors out to arrest them on grounds of indecent behavior, and there was even an incident where they sent a small group of hunters and rogues out to spy and trap the two women in whatever act that the higher paladins thought to be indecent. All in attempts to save the souls of two "improper" ladies. Did they not know or care who these so-called ladies were?

Tesha laughed to herself. The holy souls of Stormwind cared less about the fact that she was a woman who dealt with demons while her partner was a criminal mastermind. The warlock in her younger days had decimated small villages and once was able to harness the beasts of nightmares; she had drained the souls of hundreds of innocents, and yet they dare try to save her soul? She had no use for a soul, for she had plenty stored away. Trinity had stolen from the rich and poor alike, caring for no one but Tesha herself throughout all these years. She was cunning, ruthless, and didn't have the mind to spend precious scheming time on those religious fools. What did she care what these people thought about what she did behind closed doors? Perhaps if they worried about their own issues at hand, the rogue's coffers wouldn't be filled with so much gold. But no, they'd much rather shake their fists at two women who cared for each other than to worry about demon invasions or criminal masterminds who remained at large. For as annoying as it could become, that scenario suited Tesha just fine.

Perhaps they were just jealous that two women could so love each other so much, gain so much pleasure from one another, while they, the pious bastards, were miserable.

"I'm going up to take a bath."

Startled from her thoughts, Tesha could merely smile and nod as Trinity made her way up the stairs. Even with the softest of footfalls the floor boards of the little cabin creaked. She heard the water turn on followed soon after by the sound of a tub filling. So long had they been apart that it was almost strange to have another person in the cabin again.

Outside a crack of thunder let loose and rain began to beat on the windowpanes. A cool breeze shot down the chimney, chilling Tesha to the bone. She shuddered, wrapped her cloak around her more tightly, and began closing the inner shutters on the windows. Soon enough winter would come to the little cabin, and for a few months the two women would live like ice queens. They would sit together nightly in front of the warm fire, love each other in the large bed upstairs that was big enough for three kings (plus their queens and concubines), and for a while she wouldn't be alone. That was to say, she'd have company in the house until Winterveil came around. That time of the winter was too perfect for Trinity to not go out and do her thieving thing. She was rarely gone for more than a week at a time during the winter months but, despite her multitude of summon-able minions, Tesha had to admit that she was lonely without Trinity by her side.

With the windows locked tight, the fire dying, and Nheegrom sleeping soundly at the cooling hearth, Tesha decided it was time to head upstairs herself. Trinity never took long in the bath, and they had been away from each other for several moon cycles. The warlock grinned to herself as she felt that old familiar spark of excitement as she walked up the rickety stairs.

The upstairs region of the cabin that the two women shared comprised of one large room and a modest bathroom. The stairs were located along the wall on one side of the room and opposite to them stood the large bed. Tesha turned her head in the direction of that bed as she ascended the last few stairs, taking in the sight that was Trinity.

The rogue had her slender, dark skinned body wrapped in a white towel. She sat down on the over sized bed as she drew a comb through her long, damp black hair.

"Here, let me do that."

Allowing herself to be pampered, Trinity handed the little comb to Tesha. The two women sat silently together on the bed, enjoying one another's presence as the warlock gently worked the knots out of her partner's hair. Unable to resist her lover's bare shoulders, Tesha brushed the dark locks away and laid several gentle kisses on Trinity's skin. The rogue all but vocally purred. She turned her face to meet Tesha's, kissed her deeply, and began to remove her robe.

"It's been far too long since we last touched, love."

Tesha moaned, "Yes, yes it has."

As the winds whipped, the rains lashed, and the thunder rumbled through the air, the two women threw themselves into a state of ecstasy.

*******

The weather had calmed down to a gentle, grey drizzle by morning. The women had slept soundly together in each other's arms, but they were startled awake by a loud pounding on their front door.

"Open up ye heathens!" Yelled a man's voice. "We know you're home. You're in violation of the church, living in sin as you are. Petty thieves, demon mongers, sinners! We know your secrets. It's time to be saved by the Light!"

Trinity swore and lightly sprung from the bed. Carefully she looked out the window, then swore again.

"How many are there?"

"They've a small army that's visible. Judging by the sound of the horses panicking, there's a few in the barn minding them, plus I assume there's a few spread out in the woods behind the cabin."

"Stormwind Guard?"

"Worse, Scarlet Crusade."

"Wait...did you just say Scarlet Crusade? We're not the undead, what are they doing here?"

The rogue moved away from her window and began dressing in her combat leathers. "I'm not sure love. Maybe they ran out of undead to hassle so they thought they'd try their hand at taking out some sinners who harbor demons." She shrugged as she slide her poisonous daggers into their respective sheaths. "Doesn't matter why they're here. They are and it sounds like they mean to take us out." Another loud pounding on the door, the sounds of a window being smashed in. The felhound could be heard growling downstairs. "We have two choices, we run or fight. Either way it's not going to be easy."

Tesha was sliding on her rings as she spoke. "Do I look like I'm in any shape to be running? No Trinity, I have no intention of running. This cabin is our home. Where would we go? Winter is almost on us and unless we steal a gryphon and make for Booty Bay we'll freeze to death without a home." The warlock defiantly shook her head, making up her mind. "No, this is our home and I will hand it over to no one. Not to the Stormwind Guard, not to the bloody Scarlet Crusade, not to the Light itself."

Smiling, Trinity walked over to Tesha, grasped her hand and planted a quick kiss on her knuckles. "As you wish. Let me get my throwing knives then."

Tesha returned the smile and moved to grab her staff, Atiesh. The staff itself had also been a gift from one of Trinity's many thieving adventures, taken from the hands of an elderly mage. It wasn't much to look at, but the power it possessed was, well it was rather legendary.

"Where did you set up your last demon portal?"

"There's one in the loft of the barn, another out in the woods, a third but older one is up on the roof, but I'm sure I can still access it."

Trinity nodded, thinking of nothing now but battle tactics. "The loft won't be of much use, I'm sure they are already watching that one. See if you can't use the one on the roof. I'm sure up there would give you the best vantage point to rain fire and demons on the heads of these intruders. Save the one in the woods just in case you find yourself in need of making a run for it. Anything that gets near you, send it running. Try to stay on hider grounds: the roofs of the out buildings, trees, whatever else you can stand on. I may end up having to throw knives blindly with this many Scarlets around and I'd rather not hit you. If we get overwhelmed, run. Summon Lux to you and run."

"And you? If we get overrun will you perform one of your wonderful vanishing acts?"

She grinned wickedly in reply. "Naturally love. With them choking on gasses and bleeding from the gashes that they never saw coming."

"Then I'll see you on the battle field."

Tesha called to Nheegrom and together they teleported up to the roof. Meanwhile Trinity slid out of one of the second story windows, shimmying her way down to the ground with the stealth and ease of a seasoned assassin.

"Come on boys, we need to get this door down!" Bellowed a rather fat lieutenant. His holy jowls shook as he orchestrated the heave-ho of his soldiers, who just so happened to be wielding a makeshift battering ram. Trinity decided that while he was probably the wisest choice to take out first, she'd try and save this so called man of the Light for last. If he wanted to spout on about demonic activities and hellfire, his dying visions would be demons and destruction. While she let some time pass, ensuring that Tesha was ready to do her part, Trinity snuck around the property. She placed a few bombs here, a few distractions there, gagging and blinding a few stragglers permanently. Silently she slipped into the barn, removing the opposition that decided to occupy the little building. One by one she snuck up behind her prey, silently on leather shod feet, and drew a blade across their necks, silencing them for eternity. When the barn was cleared of Scarlet soldiers, she waited. Once she heard the sounds of demons on the kill, she'd release the horses. The two fiery stallions that Tesha kept there would create chaos and destruction; her black stallion himself was a wild force to be reckoned with as well.

*******

The warlock stroked the hair on top of the felhunter's head. "I need you to stay by my side, Nheegrom. Attack only what comes near me. Silence anything that tries to lay a heal." She then stood, closed her eyes, and began to summon her arsenal of demons.

"Come to me, sweet Lynyla. I need you to charm and lash out at my enemies.

Come Jakgup, you little imp. Bring with you your fire and fiendish friends.

Hathkresh, my blue minion, bring me your protection.

Izikraksha, I dare summon you now. I'm in need of your muscle and axe."

Already drained of resources Tesha traded some of her health to restore her magical reserve. She then promptly harvested the souls of those that Trinity hate secretly felled down below to replenish that of which she had just taken away from herself. She took inventory of her little army and felt a love for them that only a warlock such as herself could feel. "My minions, I am in need of your protection today. Your master has called, now do my bidding."

Tesha began to drop infernos from the sky as her minions made their way down to where the army of Scarlet Crusaders stood, still trying to break their way into the cabin. One by one the infernos hit the ground in a blazing green glory, unrolling themselves into a near humanoid form. As the infernos reached their full hight they began to unleash their rocky demonic fury. They swung their mighty rock fists at the soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade, crushing skulls and collapsing chest cavities with each mighty swing. Their pulsing green auras melted and twisted the skins of those who ran to close. While Tesha was preoccupied with summoning her infernos, a priest on a snowy white gryphon dropped down on the warlock. The priest was focused only on smiting the warlock, missing the presence of the felhound. Nheegrom silenced the attacker and bit at the man's heels, tripping the him and breaking his legs, effectively immobilizing him. To be absolutely certain that the priest would cause no more harm though Tesha first cursed his tongue, then drained his life from him. She'd save the man's soul for later use.

*******

Upon hearing the chaos that the infernos created, Trinity took her queue and released the horses. She then sprinted from her hiding spot in the barn into the open, shifting into her wolfish form as she did so, her poisoned blades bringing pain and death to all those who stood in her path. Furiously she sliced the enemy to ribbons, dodging their counterattacks, distracting the healers long enough to allow Tesha's demons to do the real destruction. Step, step, thrust, step, slash, stab, step, step, stab. In her wake lay several bodies, some silent and slowly draining of their life fluids, some crying out in agony as her poisons did their job. Finally having made her way into the center of the fray, Trinity felt herself to be slightly overwhelmed so she began to throw her little knives in a broad arc. Even in the fray of battle, heavily surrounded, she was calm and calculating. Each knife was thrown with precision and care. Many of those knives she flung that morning found their way into the necks and vitals of the red and white clad soldiers, efficiently taking out the enemy.

The ground began to vibrate; the rogue smiled. Out of the wood line stormed a doomguard, immolating the nearest of the holy paladins and priests, creating around itself an aura of terror. A second doomguard soon followed the first, stomping a great hoof down on the skulls and crushing of any of those who dared to come in a close enough range.

Everywhere imps cackled and cast their balls of flame; voidwalkers shielded the doomguards, taunting the soldiers of the Light and demoralizing them as their holy spells did no damage to the larger demons; the succubi were making quick work of the Scarlet Crusade's presumably best holy warriors, charming the men into a slave-like stupor and lashing their whips at any of those who came near enough. A couple of the infernals had crumbled into individual stone, but at least three were still creating mass destruction in their rocky wake.

For those who belonged to the army of the Scarlet Crusade, it was absolute pandemonium.

The grey skies continued to drop a light drizzle on top of the warring parties, but the damp was no foe of the fiends of hell. The little yard had turned into a mud field covered in death. While many of the soldiers who were clad in plate were stuck in the suction, Trinity slid across the mud and blood with ease. She was a dancer on the stage of sludge, her actions a ballet of destruction. Her orchestrater was the giant purple demon who flew down from the sky, bringing with her hellfire and fear.

Trinity let a sinister grin rip across on her face. Her lover, the demonic ginger. In between cutting down her own attackers Trinity couldn't help but to watch Tesha work. The warlock cursed the tongues of those who dare try to send a holy spell her way, inflicted agony on those who attempted to raise a hammer to her, crippled any foe who tried to attack her or her partner. Much like when Trinity used her throwing knives, it mattered not in which direction the warlock was currently facing; spells flew out in every direction with great power and haste. The Scarlet Crusade had been wise in bringing a whole army to try and capture the women, but despite their numbers and single-minded zealotry, even they quaked in fear of the demon before them.

"I thought I told you to stay on high ground!"

Tesha cackled at her lover's cry and turned back to the battle before her. "Katra zil shukil, anach kyree!" she yelled as she took out yet another soldier. "Shaza-keil gor'om haguul!!"

A young lad, no more than seventeen summers old, tried to attack the rogue from the side while she was distracted by Tesha's demonic war cries. He had once been a handsome blonde boy, as the remaining portions of his face attested to, but thanks to one of the warlock's various spells that fact had been altered permanently. Despite a look of defeat in his cold blue eyes the boy's spirit compelled him to attack the women until his dying breath. Trinity simply side stepped his feeble attempt at her life, thrusting her long dagger into his back as he stumbled past her, essentially ending the remaining portion of his doomed life.

Nearly at the same moment middle-aged paladin set on retribution for the lives and souls of his fallen comrades charged at Tesha from behind. With the reflexes of a snake striking its next meal Trinity removed her hand from the blade that was buried in the young priest's back, reached into one of the many protected pockets that held her throwing knives, grabbed ahold of the item that she was seeking, and flung that item at the man. She managed to lodge the little knife into a small crevice in his armor. Like the venom from a fang, the poison on the knife seeped into the man's blood stream. He shouted in pain and changed course for the rogue. While not an instantaneous death, the man perished painfully within minutes. She simply evaded him until that time came.

*******

The war between the two women and the Scarlet Crusade's army waged on well into the late afternoon. The steady drizzle that refused to let up continued on, bringing with it a thick fog as the day progressed. Both of the women, while showing no outward indication of injury or waning energy, were exhausted. Their yard, once pleasantly overgrown with grasses and wild flowers, was now covered in dead bodies and demon bits. Finally the sun peaked out between the hazy clouds just as it was dimming its light on Azeroth and the remaining soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade were either killed or somehow miraculously scared off. There now was only one man between the women and fully reclaiming their home: the man with the jowls. The lieutenant.

Like the two women, the lieutenant had not made it through that day's battle unscathed. He had a large gash that was leaking his life fluid down his side and when he spoke, his speech was garbled from the various curses that had struck him.

"Shinners! Whoresh! Demon mongersh!! You will pay for the crimesh you have committed here today!"

Trinity sighed, rolled her eyes, and played a vanishing act as Tesha preoccupied the huffing and bloated man.

The warlock was now back in her human form, having long exhausted the energy that allowed her to summon her demonic alter-ego. "Why don't you just give it up? Leave us in peace, for not even the best of your soldiers could take us out in force. What makes you think that you alone can make us pay for our so-called sins?"

Filled with zealotry and blind holy rage, the man began to charge at Tesha, shield in hand. He started out slow and lumbering, but quickly gained momentum with each step. Faster and faster he barreled towards her, each breath ragged. Just as the warlock was about to teleport herself to safety, the man's feet flew out from underneath him, as if his flapping neck folds had met an imaginary string that had been strung tight in the air. Within a few final bubbling breathes, the lieutenant was dead. Standing over him was Trinity, bloody wire still in hand.

Tesha walked over to her lovers side as Trinity finally shifted back into her human form and they took one another's hand. Together they surveyed the damage that had been done. A hundred or so men and women of the Scarlet Crusade lay dead in the mud that had once been grass. Of the warlock's demons only Nheegrom and one of the doomguards seemed to yet live, though both were severely injured. Both women suffered multiple shallow wounds and bore newly burned scars caused by the holy light wielded by the soldiers, but they would live to see another day.

"Do you think they'll come again?" Tesha asked.

"You know as well as I, as long as we're together and as long as we're seen as sinners in the eyes of those who claim to be holy, they'll return."

"I wasn't just generalities, I'm well aware that we'll be hunted until the last of our days. I'm just wondering if the Scarlet Crusade itself will return."

The rogue turned to Tesha, kissing her partner deeply on the lips. "No love. The Scarlet Crusade may be full of blind zealots, but they'd be foolish to waste anymore precious soldiers on the likes of us. We're not the possessed zombies they seek. As for the rest, they'll probably be pounding on our door once the snows have come and gone again.

"Come love, you're shivering from cold. We're both in dire need of a bath and dry linens. Let us light the hearth and mend our wounds."

Together they lifted the faithful felhound and brought him to his bed near the hearth. They bathed, bound their wounds, dressed in fresh clothes, then had their evening meal by the fire. Around them their cabin was in a state of devastation, but that night the two women were content to still call it their home. Rebuilding would have to begin another day. For now it was enough to have each other in the warmth of their cabin.

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