I'm currently slowly making my way through what I assume is the tail end of the Hyjal quests; one of my current ones is The Sanctum of the Prophets. During Hyjal I've started using an adaptation of my old, TBC/WoTLK farming rotation.
First, I use the current addons:-
Omen
Kharthus Hunter Timers
Range Display
OmniCC
I also use the following pull macro with Serpent Sting; although you'll want to swap this out with regular Serpent for instancing. This fires Serpent, but prevents a follow up autoshot, so I don't produce any additional threat. If you don't have any other mobs in the immediate vicinity, after firing, your target will go off, but immediately be reselected.
#show Serpent Sting
/cast [harm, exists] Serpent Sting
/cleartarget
1. Measuring with Range Display, get to 35 feet of your target.
2. Drop an Immolation Trap.
3. Fire Serpent Sting.
4. Backpedal, and while doing so, send the pet when the mob hits the trap. You may get melee hit once, depending on your lag; but that is no big deal.
5. Fire Cobra Shot and Explosive Shot. I like getting the two off without an auto in between if I can, for old time's sake; I never quite got the 1:1.5 out of my system. <3
6. If you are impatient, fire Kill Shot when it lights up.
I finish with 95 focus, and 3-5 seconds left on the cooldown of Immolation Trap.
Showing posts with label survival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label survival. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
"That *annoying* Hunter."
So after making a few posts on the forum this evening, in response, someone replied to me with this:-
"wow, you were that annoying hunter with a blog on hunter forums in BC. What happened I dont think I have seen you post once since wrath?"
I realise that this, meagre as it may be, sums up my place in this game's history. BRK had a gun named after him; but apparently I still live in infamy on the forum as "that annoying Hunter."
I'm not offended by it at all, however; quite the contrary, in fact. I often used to write that I felt there was a thematic association between Survival and John McClaine. Given that, I think probably the highest form of flattery that I could be given, is to be known as a proverbial fly in the ointment. ;)
"wow, you were that annoying hunter with a blog on hunter forums in BC. What happened I dont think I have seen you post once since wrath?"
I realise that this, meagre as it may be, sums up my place in this game's history. BRK had a gun named after him; but apparently I still live in infamy on the forum as "that annoying Hunter."
I'm not offended by it at all, however; quite the contrary, in fact. I often used to write that I felt there was a thematic association between Survival and John McClaine. Given that, I think probably the highest form of flattery that I could be given, is to be known as a proverbial fly in the ointment. ;)
Monday, March 7, 2011
"You have to focus, Trinity."
So over the past 24 hours, I've been considering my opinion on the shift to Focus, from mana.
I offer the following disclaimer; I'm not even doing Heroics any more. My sole two objectives in WoW at this point, are getting a Netherdrake, and the Conqueror PvP title. The 80-85 quests have been sufficiently boring up to this point that it has even been difficult to motivate myself to get to level 85, but I will probably need to if I want sufficient Resilience gear to finish rep farming for Conqueror.
I'm also completely solitary. I made the mistake of transferring back to Jubei'Thos in order to play with my brothers, but they have since moved to Saurfang themselves, ironically; and the community on Jubei seems to be largely non-existent at this point. I tried getting into a guild earlier on, when doing Vashj'ir quests, but got the usual "go go go!" type doing them with me, which I really do not want at all.
My other two activities in WoW will consist of old quests (Nagrand primarily at the moment, for interest's sake) and possibly gold farming for a tundra mammoth, as well. I considered WoTLK's quests to have been the best released so far, and so will probably also finish any of those that I've left also; although due to how much I enjoyed them, most of them were done during WoTLK.
Considering what I use it for, then, most people will probably say that the difference between mana and focus is not all that great. There is a noticeable difference, however. Given that I only used to put Viper on while travelling, (or if I was in really low level areas, where it made no difference) mana meant that I had to drink anywhere between every 10-20 mobs, depending on how much I was trapping.
Now, it really depends on how I play. If I'm not feeling in a hurry, and am happy with simply using Serpent, alternating between Immolation and Snake Trap, and auto shot, I can literally keep going forever. If I use Explosive Shot, however, I will often get down to 50% focus between kills, and so may have to use Steady a few times to get it back up.
Without knowing for certain, I'm idly guessing that will throw a bit of a spanner in the works for those who are doing Heroics or raids, simply because during long fights, there would likely be periods where you'd be stuck doing nothing but Steady (at least for a few shots) with precious little else to do until you caught back up; although given you'd only need 3 Steadies or so, it probably wouldn't be that bad.
The thing I loved about mana in particular during TBC, was the fact that in a 5 man or raid, if I had pots or runes, I could get it back when I really needed it; although I'm guessing that is what Ghostcrawler primarily wanted to prevent us from being able to do, as well.
The really positive side where focus is concerned for me, however, is that with it, traps are completely free; the cooldown itself is my only constraint with using Immolation now. I've removed the Glyph of Immolation Trap which buffed its' damage, as well; at my current level, Immolation has actually become a bit too bursty with the glyph on, and if I'm critting, I can have difficulty keeping threat on the pet.
If I was still doing 5 mans, then, something tells me I'd probably be feeling nostalgic for mana; but for what I do, the occasional per-mob delay is not a big problem, particularly considering that I'm often waiting on Immolation's CD anywayz, if I don't alternate with Snake Trap.
I offer the following disclaimer; I'm not even doing Heroics any more. My sole two objectives in WoW at this point, are getting a Netherdrake, and the Conqueror PvP title. The 80-85 quests have been sufficiently boring up to this point that it has even been difficult to motivate myself to get to level 85, but I will probably need to if I want sufficient Resilience gear to finish rep farming for Conqueror.
I'm also completely solitary. I made the mistake of transferring back to Jubei'Thos in order to play with my brothers, but they have since moved to Saurfang themselves, ironically; and the community on Jubei seems to be largely non-existent at this point. I tried getting into a guild earlier on, when doing Vashj'ir quests, but got the usual "go go go!" type doing them with me, which I really do not want at all.
My other two activities in WoW will consist of old quests (Nagrand primarily at the moment, for interest's sake) and possibly gold farming for a tundra mammoth, as well. I considered WoTLK's quests to have been the best released so far, and so will probably also finish any of those that I've left also; although due to how much I enjoyed them, most of them were done during WoTLK.
Considering what I use it for, then, most people will probably say that the difference between mana and focus is not all that great. There is a noticeable difference, however. Given that I only used to put Viper on while travelling, (or if I was in really low level areas, where it made no difference) mana meant that I had to drink anywhere between every 10-20 mobs, depending on how much I was trapping.
Now, it really depends on how I play. If I'm not feeling in a hurry, and am happy with simply using Serpent, alternating between Immolation and Snake Trap, and auto shot, I can literally keep going forever. If I use Explosive Shot, however, I will often get down to 50% focus between kills, and so may have to use Steady a few times to get it back up.
Without knowing for certain, I'm idly guessing that will throw a bit of a spanner in the works for those who are doing Heroics or raids, simply because during long fights, there would likely be periods where you'd be stuck doing nothing but Steady (at least for a few shots) with precious little else to do until you caught back up; although given you'd only need 3 Steadies or so, it probably wouldn't be that bad.
The thing I loved about mana in particular during TBC, was the fact that in a 5 man or raid, if I had pots or runes, I could get it back when I really needed it; although I'm guessing that is what Ghostcrawler primarily wanted to prevent us from being able to do, as well.
The really positive side where focus is concerned for me, however, is that with it, traps are completely free; the cooldown itself is my only constraint with using Immolation now. I've removed the Glyph of Immolation Trap which buffed its' damage, as well; at my current level, Immolation has actually become a bit too bursty with the glyph on, and if I'm critting, I can have difficulty keeping threat on the pet.
If I was still doing 5 mans, then, something tells me I'd probably be feeling nostalgic for mana; but for what I do, the occasional per-mob delay is not a big problem, particularly considering that I'm often waiting on Immolation's CD anywayz, if I don't alternate with Snake Trap.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Some downtime in WoW
I've been trying to hit various aspects of the Linux learning curve fairly hard over the last couple of days, and have realised that I need to stop and do something else for a bit.
I recognise the signs, which for me are mainly a chronic inability to stay on task. If I'm mentally fresh, I can work away at something exclusively for a couple of days at a time with tunnel vision, but after the third or fourth day like that, I tend to need a change.
So I'm going to be going into WoW after this, maybe doing some dailies, and some other stuff. I've got 3k gold now in the attempt to save for mount money, but I'm still debating whether to cough up for dual speccing. The reason why is because truthfully I want to go back to my TBC-like Survival build for farming, but on the other hand, it'd be good to be able to respec for Heroics at a moment's notice as well.
Then again, I've still never tried 51 point Marksmanship yet, either; I keep meaning to get around to trying out Chimaera Shot, but it just hasn't happened yet. I also want to get my Devilsaur out again at some point, as well. Lots to do, lots to do. :)
I recognise the signs, which for me are mainly a chronic inability to stay on task. If I'm mentally fresh, I can work away at something exclusively for a couple of days at a time with tunnel vision, but after the third or fourth day like that, I tend to need a change.
So I'm going to be going into WoW after this, maybe doing some dailies, and some other stuff. I've got 3k gold now in the attempt to save for mount money, but I'm still debating whether to cough up for dual speccing. The reason why is because truthfully I want to go back to my TBC-like Survival build for farming, but on the other hand, it'd be good to be able to respec for Heroics at a moment's notice as well.
Then again, I've still never tried 51 point Marksmanship yet, either; I keep meaning to get around to trying out Chimaera Shot, but it just hasn't happened yet. I also want to get my Devilsaur out again at some point, as well. Lots to do, lots to do. :)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Remembering Survival
I just found this video on YouTube. It's of the last few minutes of The Dark Knight.
It reminded me of when I made this blog post, about what Survival ideally was, for me.
I actually do enjoy my dailies, now. I log in, do the Icecrown ones, sometimes go and farm Quel'Danas to make up around another 100g from there, and then log out. I just renewed my subscription, and I actually added a debit card number for the first time this month; so I'm not going anywhere.
It's nothing like what I have experienced in the past, though. The battlegrounds were glorious, primarily pre-TBC, but they could still be good during TBC as well. 5 mans during TBC were also still at least partly worth doing.
I can still play. I can still get in, and farm, and run the odd old instance with people, and dream...but it's not the same. I know it never will be again.
I can no longer express this to you on the forum, Ghostcrawler; but I will not forget what you and the "new Blizzard," have taken from me.
It reminded me of when I made this blog post, about what Survival ideally was, for me.
I actually do enjoy my dailies, now. I log in, do the Icecrown ones, sometimes go and farm Quel'Danas to make up around another 100g from there, and then log out. I just renewed my subscription, and I actually added a debit card number for the first time this month; so I'm not going anywhere.
It's nothing like what I have experienced in the past, though. The battlegrounds were glorious, primarily pre-TBC, but they could still be good during TBC as well. 5 mans during TBC were also still at least partly worth doing.
I can still play. I can still get in, and farm, and run the odd old instance with people, and dream...but it's not the same. I know it never will be again.
I can no longer express this to you on the forum, Ghostcrawler; but I will not forget what you and the "new Blizzard," have taken from me.
Friday, April 24, 2009
On Black Arrow and Wyvern Sting
To answer Gundersson's last comment; yes, Wyvern was made our top tier talent in 1.7, and remained so until TBC.
I actually got Black Arrow and ES back recently with the talent reset, and I'm finding now that they don't make me too bored. I still use Immolation Trap for a couple of reasons:-
a) Because, although the damage over time is only marginally more, it still does it over 6 seconds, it kills things faster, at least once the trap goes off.
b) Because of the way I'm specced, I get Entrapment procs, which stack with the one second stun from Charge. It can be good for allowing me to get range once the trap goes off, or to help with kiting when I use Frost.
c) I just enjoy trapping more, although I'm not stupid about it, either. There are times when, as I've said, I'm 40 yards away from one particular mob, but there are others between it and me, and I don't necessarily want to pull every other mob between me and it. There are also times when I'm in a hurry, for whatever reason, and as long as I've got range, I will use Black Arrow then.
The reason why I don't feel that Black Arrow has made us a clone of Marksmanship, is because in the past, what we would have used for long range work is Wyvern Sting, but Wyvern has always been on a long CD. Black Arrow for me isn't so much purely a ranged L&L proc, (the presumed raider mentality) as it is a free second use of Wyvern Sting, without the sleep, but which *also* allows me to stack the near 3k damage of Serpent on top of it.
I understand that in raid terms, generating L&L procs might be considered the only reason why Survival exists, but the reason why I don't raid is precisely because I want to be able to do what I want.
So when I'm farming, getting an L&L proc isn't actually my main goal in life. I will often either use an Immolation Trap, Serpent, and a single ES, or BA, Serpent, and a single ES; or sometimes even just Serpent and a single ES, which also usually kills things very rapidly as well. When 3.0 first came out, I was as much an L&L junky as anyone else; but then GC put it on a cooldown, which I found clunky and annoying, so I learned to live without it.
The only time I really definitely want an L&L proc is when I'm doing group work (in terms of mobs) with Frost Trap. When that happens, against three targets, they will all get one ES each, or with two targets, the pet's will get two ES, and the second mob will get Serpent and one, usually with a Feign as well.
Another thing you may or may not find interesting; when farming, I never use Steady. At all. It is horribly mana inefficient, and use of Steady might have a lot to do with why you've mentioned that your pet can't hold threat either, Gundersson.
I often have scenarios where I'll rapidly hear the "exceeded pet threat," sound effect in Omen 3 or so times per kill. Have any of you heard of barreling waves, in surfing? That's essentially what I do with threat, and you can only do it if, once you've got some dots up, you use pure autoshot after it.
I actually got Black Arrow and ES back recently with the talent reset, and I'm finding now that they don't make me too bored. I still use Immolation Trap for a couple of reasons:-
a) Because, although the damage over time is only marginally more, it still does it over 6 seconds, it kills things faster, at least once the trap goes off.
b) Because of the way I'm specced, I get Entrapment procs, which stack with the one second stun from Charge. It can be good for allowing me to get range once the trap goes off, or to help with kiting when I use Frost.
c) I just enjoy trapping more, although I'm not stupid about it, either. There are times when, as I've said, I'm 40 yards away from one particular mob, but there are others between it and me, and I don't necessarily want to pull every other mob between me and it. There are also times when I'm in a hurry, for whatever reason, and as long as I've got range, I will use Black Arrow then.
The reason why I don't feel that Black Arrow has made us a clone of Marksmanship, is because in the past, what we would have used for long range work is Wyvern Sting, but Wyvern has always been on a long CD. Black Arrow for me isn't so much purely a ranged L&L proc, (the presumed raider mentality) as it is a free second use of Wyvern Sting, without the sleep, but which *also* allows me to stack the near 3k damage of Serpent on top of it.
I understand that in raid terms, generating L&L procs might be considered the only reason why Survival exists, but the reason why I don't raid is precisely because I want to be able to do what I want.
So when I'm farming, getting an L&L proc isn't actually my main goal in life. I will often either use an Immolation Trap, Serpent, and a single ES, or BA, Serpent, and a single ES; or sometimes even just Serpent and a single ES, which also usually kills things very rapidly as well. When 3.0 first came out, I was as much an L&L junky as anyone else; but then GC put it on a cooldown, which I found clunky and annoying, so I learned to live without it.
The only time I really definitely want an L&L proc is when I'm doing group work (in terms of mobs) with Frost Trap. When that happens, against three targets, they will all get one ES each, or with two targets, the pet's will get two ES, and the second mob will get Serpent and one, usually with a Feign as well.
Another thing you may or may not find interesting; when farming, I never use Steady. At all. It is horribly mana inefficient, and use of Steady might have a lot to do with why you've mentioned that your pet can't hold threat either, Gundersson.
I often have scenarios where I'll rapidly hear the "exceeded pet threat," sound effect in Omen 3 or so times per kill. Have any of you heard of barreling waves, in surfing? That's essentially what I do with threat, and you can only do it if, once you've got some dots up, you use pure autoshot after it.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Escaping L&L/ES/BA boredom
Gundersson,
I was obviously wrong about Immolation Trap, and I acknowledge that.
When I'm on my own at least, however, damage isn't actually my main priority.
It might be in an instance, yes; but as I wrote a few posts ago, for a bit before the release of 3.1, for farming I actually specced *out* of ES/L&L because I got bored with running around one shotting everything that moves.
If I'm still trapping, I can farm for hours and not get bored. With ES, though, I find my eyes starting to glaze over after only the first few mobs; as you say, it sucks.
Seriously; use dual speccing and, as a farming spec, give yourself this.
Then you can switch between that and the ES/L&L/BA whack-a-mole spec to use in Heroics or raids.
It's essentially what we had during TBC, but with the Glyph of Immolation Trap, CA, and Hunting Party as well. I'd never use this in a Heroic or raid of course; but when I'm alone, I can choose what's actually fun to play, not what's purely high DPS.
If I could spec for ES without Black Arrow I would, but unfortunately we're not given that choice.
I was obviously wrong about Immolation Trap, and I acknowledge that.
When I'm on my own at least, however, damage isn't actually my main priority.
It might be in an instance, yes; but as I wrote a few posts ago, for a bit before the release of 3.1, for farming I actually specced *out* of ES/L&L because I got bored with running around one shotting everything that moves.
If I'm still trapping, I can farm for hours and not get bored. With ES, though, I find my eyes starting to glaze over after only the first few mobs; as you say, it sucks.
Seriously; use dual speccing and, as a farming spec, give yourself this.
Then you can switch between that and the ES/L&L/BA whack-a-mole spec to use in Heroics or raids.
It's essentially what we had during TBC, but with the Glyph of Immolation Trap, CA, and Hunting Party as well. I'd never use this in a Heroic or raid of course; but when I'm alone, I can choose what's actually fun to play, not what's purely high DPS.
If I could spec for ES without Black Arrow I would, but unfortunately we're not given that choice.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Gundersson on Survival's rhythm in 3.1
Gundersson wrote to me close to a week back about how Survival's shot rotation is shaping up in 3.1. His comments are in italics. My responses are below his quotes, in normal text.
Finding the rythm of survival a bit.. broken. Dunno what it is really. I don't like black-arrow. It's taken something iconic to Survial, traps, and replaced it with just another shot.
Not for me it hasn't. I don't have exact numbers in front of me due to maintenance, but for me, Black Arrow wouldn't do much more than 2k damage, tops, and Immolation Trap does nearly 5k with the glyph, and in less time. Immolation Trap still has a 10% periodic chance to proc L&L as well, which is the same as Black Arrow itself.
Immolation Trap also costs more on paper, at 9% base mana, but with Resourcefulness it actually only costs 3%, due to 60% reduced mana cost.
Black Arrow is meant as a mobile L&L proc during raids (I saw GC say as much in the DPS forum) or Heroics when you want to stand still and shoot, but you also don't want to use Freezing Arrow because you want damage attached to the proc ability as well. I also use it at times for reach; if I'm in range of a group of mobs and don't want to pull the others, depending on their distance away, I will use Black Arrow, Serpent, (or Wyvern, but if so, I'll fire Wyvern first) and ES to kill one of them.
While I'm farming, if I really want to drop a single non-elite target quickly, I use an Immolation Trap, Serpent with points in Imp Stings, (which gives me close to 7k damage in dots) and Explosive Shot. (6k if all three charges crit)
That is mana intensive, but it still does more damage than Serpent, Black Arrow, and ES. It will also more than kill any non-elite mob (12k-ish health, tops) in the game that I know of. Other than for pulling isolated mobs out of groups, I never use Black Arrow outside an instance.
Black-Arrow makes your immolation trap redundant. It makes moving around useless now. You kinda just stand there and repeat a shot rotation based on priority.
Mobility would only be redundant for single targets. For multiples, I tend to use a Frost Trap and for up to 3 targets, one Explosive Shot each from the Lock and Load proc, as well as Serpent on one of them as well. Once Frost is down, circle strafe around it at range, and use Thunderstomp to hold targets in place.
It feels like they've made Survival's playstyle the same as Marksman now. Considering that crowd control from what I've heard still doesn't exist in Ulduar, our strengths are pretty much still wasted.
I don't raid, personally. I wouldn't have even done more than one Heroic in the last month. I'm farming for my epic flying mount, and a few epic rings on the AH as well. I didn't go to Naxx other than three nights in an initial week, and I've only been to Sarth once as well. Naxx bored me, and IMHO the equivalent of T7 can be had outside it, as well. The Argent Crusade rep chest is at least on par with T7.
Aside from farming, I will very occasionally do battlegrounds, but that is rare due to the Paladin and Death Knight still being the OP abominations that they are now. The DK isn't actually entirely unkillable if Army of the Dead is on CD, but the Paladin is ridiculous.
Sniper training is even more reason to just stand in one place and hit buttons.
In an instance, sure; but the only time we've ever not had a stationary rotation in instances was for a very brief time between 3.0 and 3.0.8, before those unutterable %^&* (there simply are not words) on Elitist Jerks told everyone to abuse the proc rate of Lock and Load.
The timer on Black Arrow also throws out the rhythm. It's got a 30 second cooldown but a 15 second duration or something like that.
I probably wouldn't use it, but then again, I've never really worried about L&L procs in Heroics at least. Caring about it in raids is up to you, but if you use Serpent instead, if you've got the glyph you're still getting the +10% damage to Steady Shot, (which badly needs it) and given that it has a 20% RAP coefficient rather than Black Arrow's 10%, will likely do more damage as well, even after the +6%.
Monitoring it doesn't really add to the fun of gameplay. Serpent sting handled everything well enough. You got your serpent sting on the target and then you got into your rotation, you were left free to manouver and react to things.
Personally, I felt as though even Serpent slowed things down way too much. With Hunter's Mark, it meant two GCDs before I was into my full rotation. Now if you use Black Arrow as well, that's three.
Now it's like you're almost required to have tunnel vision.
As I said, I don't raid. I got 200g from a couple of guys to do a Scholomance run the other night; most fun I've had with the game in months, actually. I saw parts of the instance that I haven't before, and in addition to the money, they were very grateful, as well.
Some people might enjoy raiding, but personally I find I have a lot more fun if I don't go near it.
If you want to have fun in this game, stay up until 3-4 am one morning and look for a guy levelling his way through HFP who never got a Ramps run, or find four kids and have them give you 50g each to take them on an Emperor run in BRD. It might take you 2-4 hours, but you'll have a blast, and said kids will love you for it afterwards. It's the closest I'm ever likely to get to real fatherhood.
Finding the rythm of survival a bit.. broken. Dunno what it is really. I don't like black-arrow. It's taken something iconic to Survial, traps, and replaced it with just another shot.
Not for me it hasn't. I don't have exact numbers in front of me due to maintenance, but for me, Black Arrow wouldn't do much more than 2k damage, tops, and Immolation Trap does nearly 5k with the glyph, and in less time. Immolation Trap still has a 10% periodic chance to proc L&L as well, which is the same as Black Arrow itself.
Immolation Trap also costs more on paper, at 9% base mana, but with Resourcefulness it actually only costs 3%, due to 60% reduced mana cost.
Black Arrow is meant as a mobile L&L proc during raids (I saw GC say as much in the DPS forum) or Heroics when you want to stand still and shoot, but you also don't want to use Freezing Arrow because you want damage attached to the proc ability as well. I also use it at times for reach; if I'm in range of a group of mobs and don't want to pull the others, depending on their distance away, I will use Black Arrow, Serpent, (or Wyvern, but if so, I'll fire Wyvern first) and ES to kill one of them.
While I'm farming, if I really want to drop a single non-elite target quickly, I use an Immolation Trap, Serpent with points in Imp Stings, (which gives me close to 7k damage in dots) and Explosive Shot. (6k if all three charges crit)
That is mana intensive, but it still does more damage than Serpent, Black Arrow, and ES. It will also more than kill any non-elite mob (12k-ish health, tops) in the game that I know of. Other than for pulling isolated mobs out of groups, I never use Black Arrow outside an instance.
Black-Arrow makes your immolation trap redundant. It makes moving around useless now. You kinda just stand there and repeat a shot rotation based on priority.
Mobility would only be redundant for single targets. For multiples, I tend to use a Frost Trap and for up to 3 targets, one Explosive Shot each from the Lock and Load proc, as well as Serpent on one of them as well. Once Frost is down, circle strafe around it at range, and use Thunderstomp to hold targets in place.
It feels like they've made Survival's playstyle the same as Marksman now. Considering that crowd control from what I've heard still doesn't exist in Ulduar, our strengths are pretty much still wasted.
I don't raid, personally. I wouldn't have even done more than one Heroic in the last month. I'm farming for my epic flying mount, and a few epic rings on the AH as well. I didn't go to Naxx other than three nights in an initial week, and I've only been to Sarth once as well. Naxx bored me, and IMHO the equivalent of T7 can be had outside it, as well. The Argent Crusade rep chest is at least on par with T7.
Aside from farming, I will very occasionally do battlegrounds, but that is rare due to the Paladin and Death Knight still being the OP abominations that they are now. The DK isn't actually entirely unkillable if Army of the Dead is on CD, but the Paladin is ridiculous.
Sniper training is even more reason to just stand in one place and hit buttons.
In an instance, sure; but the only time we've ever not had a stationary rotation in instances was for a very brief time between 3.0 and 3.0.8, before those unutterable %^&* (there simply are not words) on Elitist Jerks told everyone to abuse the proc rate of Lock and Load.
The timer on Black Arrow also throws out the rhythm. It's got a 30 second cooldown but a 15 second duration or something like that.
I probably wouldn't use it, but then again, I've never really worried about L&L procs in Heroics at least. Caring about it in raids is up to you, but if you use Serpent instead, if you've got the glyph you're still getting the +10% damage to Steady Shot, (which badly needs it) and given that it has a 20% RAP coefficient rather than Black Arrow's 10%, will likely do more damage as well, even after the +6%.
Monitoring it doesn't really add to the fun of gameplay. Serpent sting handled everything well enough. You got your serpent sting on the target and then you got into your rotation, you were left free to manouver and react to things.
Personally, I felt as though even Serpent slowed things down way too much. With Hunter's Mark, it meant two GCDs before I was into my full rotation. Now if you use Black Arrow as well, that's three.
Now it's like you're almost required to have tunnel vision.
As I said, I don't raid. I got 200g from a couple of guys to do a Scholomance run the other night; most fun I've had with the game in months, actually. I saw parts of the instance that I haven't before, and in addition to the money, they were very grateful, as well.
Some people might enjoy raiding, but personally I find I have a lot more fun if I don't go near it.
If you want to have fun in this game, stay up until 3-4 am one morning and look for a guy levelling his way through HFP who never got a Ramps run, or find four kids and have them give you 50g each to take them on an Emperor run in BRD. It might take you 2-4 hours, but you'll have a blast, and said kids will love you for it afterwards. It's the closest I'm ever likely to get to real fatherhood.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
What's Survival's Rhythm?
This is in response to Pike's most recent post, Don't Panic.
In that post, she mentions temporarily respeccing Survival and not being able to identify the rhythm of Surv's shot rotation.
In answering this, I'm going to confess to having done something recently which many will consider objectionable. Before you panic, however, understand that I'm not advocating doing this for raiding, but that it is going to be relevant to my answer to Pike, even where raiding is concerned, and I will explain why.
I don't raid at all at the moment, or even run Heroics much, but for soloing my dailies (and other farming as I continue to work towards saving for epic flight) I recently respecced out of Explosive Shot and Lock and Load.
The reason why is that Explosive Shot, in its' current state, is overpowered for soloing as Survival. There were a couple of times while doing the dailies at Onslaught Harbour where, when using ES, unless I exclusively used a Gorilla, I would die if I ended up with a group of 4-5 adds, because it made my threat completely uncontrollable with either a Ferocity or Tenacity pet, and mobs were on me constantly.
So now I'm back to the tactics I was using during TBC, where I lean very heavily on Serpent Sting, Immolation Trap, and pure autoshot after that, and sometimes Frost Trap for groups.
With groups, after putting Frost Trap down, if I keep Mend Pet up and micromanage Growl on each target, I can go through half a dozen mobs at once, or a dozen single targets in sequence, without drinking or using Viper.
My point, Pike, is that even with ES in a raid/Heroic, Survival's rhythm isn't about a set sequence of around half a dozen different movements, but rather about individual sets of stimulus-response pairs. My emphasis isn't on proactively attacking a target in the same sense as Beast Mastery's is, but rather on reactively making use of rapid instinct/intuition to respond either to the target's attacks, or spell-related events.
I don't know if you've ever done sed scripting in Linux, Pike, or dynamic raw Internet protocol transactions, (mail, http, or ftp, where you're not using a preprogrammed client, but rather a pure telnet/socket connection and the commands straight from the RFC/protocol description) but a very similar principle is involved. We have to use intuition in order to be able to react very rapidly on our feet, to conditions as they occur. That is also why the meditative state helps; when you go into it, from your perspective, your reaction time isn't actually fast at all. It's very slow.
Serpent Sting wears off, I put it back up. L&L procs, I change my rotation to fire ES 3 times. My traps come off CD, I use Freezing Arrow to give me another L&L proc on a target in an instance. Think of a pair of metronome ticks.
Watch this video on YouTube, for the classic example of what I'm talking about here. You will notice that Neo is depicted as being in a detached/meditative state, and a couple of times when speaking to Rakan, (another Survival Hunter) he also spoke of entering this state when playing Surv as well, particularly while in the Arena. Alumatine was very good at entering the flow state as well.
Notice also that with one exception, Neo's tactics are exclusively defensive in nature. Pike in particular has heard me compare Survival with the Soresu lightsaber form from Star Wars, as well.
For instancing or raiding, that means getting into intuitive sync with each of your procs on an individual basis, and responding to them as they occur. I don't ideally focus on the damage meter with Surv in Heroics. My focus instead is shared between my procs, my threat meter, sometimes my trap cooldowns, and whether our healer or anyone else has adds. As Mynithrosil once said, Survival ideally leaves damage to the DPS classes. ;P
For soloing, it means we use our higher hit points, and the fact that our lower damage (without ES at least) will not cause our threat to become uncontrollable. I can keep four mobs at once on my boar, and kill them sequentially, one by one if I'm not excessively hasty about spamming damage.
When I'm really playing the way I enjoy, Survival is a form of relaxation for me. I go to Onslaught Harbour, or sometimes the Sunken Temple, and (semi)meditate.
It is also, when used in that manner, application of force in exactly the way that the Tao Te Ching describes. Very gentle, very slow...and utterly invincible.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A baby Hunter on Nagrand
One of the alts I have on the go at the moment is a Hunter on Nagrand. The reason why I am levelling there is because I have a friend on that server, who was playing on Saurfang, (where my main is) and then transferred. I don't have either the money or a credit card in order to transfer right now, and I wanted to be able to play low level Warsong Gulch for a bit anyway, so I decided I'd make a new toon.
I'm still only level 13 with it, and have about 10 hours /played...I'm very slow, as I've admitted elsewhere. I tend to be extremely particular about things which some other people would yell at me for, such as making sure I am at max range before starting to fire, etc. Even at the cap, I still tend to time kills on the basis of my trap or Feign Death cooldowns, and also use throwing axes for pulling as well. So it is very slow, but I do love how passive and honestly effortless it feels.
I'm levelling Survival as usual though (*grin*) and in order to do that, am being very obsessive about my stats, as early as possible. I can usually get 100 Agility by level 20, and have 50 now at 13, so I don't think that is too bad.
To be able to level in any decent space of time with Surv at all, though, you really do need to twink your head off, at least before 60, although I also do it because of how much I love battlegrounds. We don't get the first rank Immolation Trap until 20, and Trap Mastery is 41 point now. It used to be 10 point, to coincide with Immolation Trap. The new devs have ruined so much of the synchronicity that this game used to have.
The single reason why levelling with Mirsh back in the day, I never had mount money, is because literally every spare cent went to the Auction House on gear. I've been known to buy new greens every three levels or so, and will do so for an increase of as little as 3-5 Ag, if I can get it; like I said, I'm obsessive. Other than Imp Tracking though, (and Hunter Vs Wild, at about level 25) there really isn't much in Surv for damage, early on.
I'm also using a boar as a pet, currently, which is working fine. They eat anything, they're awesome tanks, the extra health keeps them alive against adds, and if I'm trapping, they usually don't have any problem holding threat, although at level 13, that isn't an issue either.
I'm still only level 13 with it, and have about 10 hours /played...I'm very slow, as I've admitted elsewhere. I tend to be extremely particular about things which some other people would yell at me for, such as making sure I am at max range before starting to fire, etc. Even at the cap, I still tend to time kills on the basis of my trap or Feign Death cooldowns, and also use throwing axes for pulling as well. So it is very slow, but I do love how passive and honestly effortless it feels.
I'm levelling Survival as usual though (*grin*) and in order to do that, am being very obsessive about my stats, as early as possible. I can usually get 100 Agility by level 20, and have 50 now at 13, so I don't think that is too bad.
To be able to level in any decent space of time with Surv at all, though, you really do need to twink your head off, at least before 60, although I also do it because of how much I love battlegrounds. We don't get the first rank Immolation Trap until 20, and Trap Mastery is 41 point now. It used to be 10 point, to coincide with Immolation Trap. The new devs have ruined so much of the synchronicity that this game used to have.
The single reason why levelling with Mirsh back in the day, I never had mount money, is because literally every spare cent went to the Auction House on gear. I've been known to buy new greens every three levels or so, and will do so for an increase of as little as 3-5 Ag, if I can get it; like I said, I'm obsessive. Other than Imp Tracking though, (and Hunter Vs Wild, at about level 25) there really isn't much in Surv for damage, early on.
I'm also using a boar as a pet, currently, which is working fine. They eat anything, they're awesome tanks, the extra health keeps them alive against adds, and if I'm trapping, they usually don't have any problem holding threat, although at level 13, that isn't an issue either.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Adaptation
So last night I was able to get in for a bit and do some frostweave farming in Sholazar. I haven't had much time to play recently, so it was good to be able to.
It was the first time where, for an extended period, I've had to deal with the Lock and Load CD, as well. Truthfully, it isn't as bad as I'd feared, but at times, it is still a pain in the ass.
During about mid TBC, I'd developed a two gear system utilising downranking, which enabled me to trap with a 1:1.5 rotation, and still maintain a reasonable (5-10%) rate of mana efficiency. If I was still able to do that, I truthfully wouldn't need Lock and Load at all, but unfortunately of course, I can't.
Last night I reflected that Lock and Load really needs to be given its' own button at this point; if it has to be on a CD at all, I'd greatly prefer to be able to choose directly when I use it.
What I eventually came up with was to start using Frost Trap as my staple in scenarios where I know I'm likely to be dealing with multiple adds, as opposed to Immolation. This way, even if I blow my Lock and Load proc entirely on the first mob, I will still be able to kite adds. I also never use Steady Shot, pretty much no matter what. Its' mana use is horrible.
BTW, if you ever need Frostweave, I recommend farming the undead around Freya, at the river delta in the Lost Lands. It's still fairly slow, but I got 5 stacks in probably 90 mins-2 hours, which isn't too bad.
It was the first time where, for an extended period, I've had to deal with the Lock and Load CD, as well. Truthfully, it isn't as bad as I'd feared, but at times, it is still a pain in the ass.
During about mid TBC, I'd developed a two gear system utilising downranking, which enabled me to trap with a 1:1.5 rotation, and still maintain a reasonable (5-10%) rate of mana efficiency. If I was still able to do that, I truthfully wouldn't need Lock and Load at all, but unfortunately of course, I can't.
Last night I reflected that Lock and Load really needs to be given its' own button at this point; if it has to be on a CD at all, I'd greatly prefer to be able to choose directly when I use it.
What I eventually came up with was to start using Frost Trap as my staple in scenarios where I know I'm likely to be dealing with multiple adds, as opposed to Immolation. This way, even if I blow my Lock and Load proc entirely on the first mob, I will still be able to kite adds. I also never use Steady Shot, pretty much no matter what. Its' mana use is horrible.
BTW, if you ever need Frostweave, I recommend farming the undead around Freya, at the river delta in the Lost Lands. It's still fairly slow, but I got 5 stacks in probably 90 mins-2 hours, which isn't too bad.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Being true to yourself isn't always simple
There's been some debate in the comments in an earlier post of mine, about BRK migrating to Survival.
Some say they think he is being true to himself; others say he isn't. While I will say that the decision, ultimately, is nobody's but his own to make, I will offer some observations.
For as long as I have read his writing, BRK has emphasised a consistent belief that the Hunter, first, last, and everything in between, is a DPS class. BRK has stated that he feels that our class's only real role in a group is to provide as much raw damage as possible, and up until the last patch, for several years, Beast Mastery as a tree was certainly the most effective means for him to practically implement this belief.
So on the surface, it could appear as though, now that Survival generates more raw damage, in switching to it, BRK is following his convictions about providing his groups or raids with as much damage as he can.
However, in a recent post of his, "Locked and Loaded," where he relates a conversation with himself, he offers a very important clue about his current, true internal state.
"Are you going to keep using 'we' even though your pet is a sad, pathetic thing compared to Beastmastery-spec?"
"We are. For in our heart, we remain BM." (Emphasis mine)
As I said at the top of this post, BRK, like all of us, has to do what he has to do. Ultimately the only person any of us must satisfy is the one we see when we look into a mirror.
However, I will say this.
In the near three years that I've been Survival, I haven't raided all that much. I have some, and yeah, occasionally it's even been fun, in a superficial, transitory kind of way.
I don't have a readership the size of BRK's, either. I'm not diplomatic enough, for that. I've said a lot of things which have offended a lot of people, and BRK himself is one of them. I know he won't read this post.
I have my 100. I know many of you by name, or at least the character names which you are willing to share with me on here. You're good people; many of you restore my faith in my species on a daily basis. If I go into the forums, or the game itself, or even into the offline world, there are times when I really need that.
The point is, that being true to myself hasn't got me accolades. It sure as hell doesn't get me raid slots, a lot of the time. It doesn't get my name in lights, or me in the global top 5/10/whatever guilds.
Pike, you've gone back to being BM. That is the choice you've made, and for you, it's been the right one.
However, because of that, you're about to enter my world in another way as well. You won't get into a lot of Heroics. You probably won't get into a lot of raids, either.
There will probably be days when a lot of the other people you used to know, who used to be BM, have jumped on the "new Survival" bandwagon, and looking in the Guild window, you'll see that they're all in Naxx, while you're maybe in the Borean Tundra, Zul'Drak, or somewhere else, farming.
Alone.
Here's another quote for you.
"I didn't know that freedom is not a reward or a decoration that is celebrated with Champagne. Nor yet a gift, a box of dainties designed to make you lick your chops.
Oh, no! It's a choice, on the contrary and a long-distance race, quite solitary and very exhausting.
No Champagne. No friends raising their glasses as they look at you affectionately. Alone in a forbidding room, alone in the prisoner's box before the judges, and alone to decide in face of oneself or in the face of others' judgment.
At the end of all, freedom is a court sentence; that's why freedom is too heavy to bear, especially when you're down with a fever, or are distressed, or love nobody."
-- Albert Camus
If being true to yourself, then, is so terrible, why would anyone do it? If seemingly all of the possible rewards are for compromising, for selling out, for going with the crowd, for being transitory...what is the point?
The point is simply this. If your outer surroundings are a barren desert, and you are true to yourself, you will know greater joy than if your external surroundings were the most opulent palace you could imagine, while you were not.
You could be in the top rated guild on the planet. You could play WoW for a living. You could be a billionaire. You could lead the most charmed life, in corporeal terms, that you can think of. Yet lie to yourself, and it will all be worth nothing. Surround yourself with money, and in total silence, you will hear yourself weep.
BRK, I know you won't read this post, so it almost certainly doesn't really matter. If you were going to read it hypothetically, however, I'd invite you to listen to a particular song by Michael Jackson; "Man in the Mirror."
Then go and find a mirror. Stand in front of it, and without thinking about what will get you into raids or satisfy anyone else, ask the guy looking back at you...really ask him...what spec he wants to be.
You might still make the same decision.
You might not.
Some say they think he is being true to himself; others say he isn't. While I will say that the decision, ultimately, is nobody's but his own to make, I will offer some observations.
For as long as I have read his writing, BRK has emphasised a consistent belief that the Hunter, first, last, and everything in between, is a DPS class. BRK has stated that he feels that our class's only real role in a group is to provide as much raw damage as possible, and up until the last patch, for several years, Beast Mastery as a tree was certainly the most effective means for him to practically implement this belief.
So on the surface, it could appear as though, now that Survival generates more raw damage, in switching to it, BRK is following his convictions about providing his groups or raids with as much damage as he can.
However, in a recent post of his, "Locked and Loaded," where he relates a conversation with himself, he offers a very important clue about his current, true internal state.
"Are you going to keep using 'we' even though your pet is a sad, pathetic thing compared to Beastmastery-spec?"
"We are. For in our heart, we remain BM." (Emphasis mine)
As I said at the top of this post, BRK, like all of us, has to do what he has to do. Ultimately the only person any of us must satisfy is the one we see when we look into a mirror.
However, I will say this.
In the near three years that I've been Survival, I haven't raided all that much. I have some, and yeah, occasionally it's even been fun, in a superficial, transitory kind of way.
I don't have a readership the size of BRK's, either. I'm not diplomatic enough, for that. I've said a lot of things which have offended a lot of people, and BRK himself is one of them. I know he won't read this post.
I have my 100. I know many of you by name, or at least the character names which you are willing to share with me on here. You're good people; many of you restore my faith in my species on a daily basis. If I go into the forums, or the game itself, or even into the offline world, there are times when I really need that.
The point is, that being true to myself hasn't got me accolades. It sure as hell doesn't get me raid slots, a lot of the time. It doesn't get my name in lights, or me in the global top 5/10/whatever guilds.
Pike, you've gone back to being BM. That is the choice you've made, and for you, it's been the right one.
However, because of that, you're about to enter my world in another way as well. You won't get into a lot of Heroics. You probably won't get into a lot of raids, either.
There will probably be days when a lot of the other people you used to know, who used to be BM, have jumped on the "new Survival" bandwagon, and looking in the Guild window, you'll see that they're all in Naxx, while you're maybe in the Borean Tundra, Zul'Drak, or somewhere else, farming.
Alone.
Here's another quote for you.
"I didn't know that freedom is not a reward or a decoration that is celebrated with Champagne. Nor yet a gift, a box of dainties designed to make you lick your chops.
Oh, no! It's a choice, on the contrary and a long-distance race, quite solitary and very exhausting.
No Champagne. No friends raising their glasses as they look at you affectionately. Alone in a forbidding room, alone in the prisoner's box before the judges, and alone to decide in face of oneself or in the face of others' judgment.
At the end of all, freedom is a court sentence; that's why freedom is too heavy to bear, especially when you're down with a fever, or are distressed, or love nobody."
-- Albert Camus
If being true to yourself, then, is so terrible, why would anyone do it? If seemingly all of the possible rewards are for compromising, for selling out, for going with the crowd, for being transitory...what is the point?
The point is simply this. If your outer surroundings are a barren desert, and you are true to yourself, you will know greater joy than if your external surroundings were the most opulent palace you could imagine, while you were not.
You could be in the top rated guild on the planet. You could play WoW for a living. You could be a billionaire. You could lead the most charmed life, in corporeal terms, that you can think of. Yet lie to yourself, and it will all be worth nothing. Surround yourself with money, and in total silence, you will hear yourself weep.
BRK, I know you won't read this post, so it almost certainly doesn't really matter. If you were going to read it hypothetically, however, I'd invite you to listen to a particular song by Michael Jackson; "Man in the Mirror."
Then go and find a mirror. Stand in front of it, and without thinking about what will get you into raids or satisfy anyone else, ask the guy looking back at you...really ask him...what spec he wants to be.
You might still make the same decision.
You might not.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Lost One
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus; from the Statue of Liberty.
I was riding through northeastern Zul'Drak, in the early evening. It should rightfully have been considered a horrible place, with savage, biting cold, the mad remnants of the Drakkari, and the ever-present threat of being overrun with Scourge. Still, I found that somehow, I was able to like it.
I'd come here hunting the local raptors; their skins were more highly prized at the bazaar in Dalaran than most, and I was sorely in need of extra money, of late. However, as I was about to look for another raptor, I noticed a Tauren male who had already begun fighting one, only 30 yards or so in front of me.
He was a young bull. I could immediately tell from the speed of his movements and the lack of scars on his arms. It reminded me of old Tarukhe, and what he must have been like, at that age.
The Hunt was a thing of great wonder for the young, and they threw themselves into it with all the extra energy that came with their youth. It was, therefore, the most dangerous part of any Hunter's career, I realised ruefully, chuckling. Hunters who survived the taking of their first few beasts, generally slowed down and learned more respect for their prey.
This young one's fight began to go badly. Although he fired the rapid succession of smaller, lighter arrows that were a signature of the Beast school, for reasons that he could not understand, it was to no avail. The shots were deflected by the raptor's tough hide, and it continued its' attack.
The raptor had let much blood out of both him and his wolf, and as they panted with exhaustion, closed in for the kill. No doubt the creature thought he would be eating royally tonight, and that this prey would be the envy of the rest of his pack.
I rapidly drew one of the new black powder tipped arrows that we had recently learned to make, lit the fuse with a stone I carried for the purpose, and fired it at the raptor's feet, blowing a hole in the stone of the ruins. The beast was stunned momentarily, turned, looked at me, kicked both the Tauren and his wolf to the ground, and then ran off.
After a moment, the Tauren pulled himself up into a sitting position, but then simply sat for a long while. There was a look of confusion, shock, and great pain on his face, and as I watched, his dark eyes slowly filled with tears, and he began weeping, bellowing out his agony to the stars.
I understood, and averted my eyes, allowing him his dignity. This was not caused by the slashes which the raptor's claws had opened on his arms. This was from something far deeper.
The Hunters of Azeroth and Draenor had, over the course of many ages, discovered and refined three unique forms in which we could fight and hunt.
These were the way of the Beast, which allowed greater communion with animals, and which had traditionally been the first path of our young, as this Tauren was. They had grown to be called the Beast Masters. These had been the most numerous of the three, and their leader within the Hunters' Guild on Azeroth was a fierce and hot tempered, yet very wise and aged Dwarf, with an enormous red beard. His name was Briac.
There was also the way of the Bow, which my Draenei friend Romochka followed; they were called the Marksmen, due to their greater skill with the bow than the rest of us. The Marksmen were still great in number, but despite this, they had little formal representation within the Hunters' Guild. As such, Romochka had come to be recognised as master among them, although reluctantly, and he did not like it when others mentioned this.
Finally, there was the third path, of which I myself had been a native for many years. This was for those of us who embraced both of the above, but who, in addition, had developed a greater ability and will to avoid death. Because of this, we came to be called the Survivalists, and we had traditionally been the rarest of the three. The greatest of our elders, Arland, had simply walked away into the wilderness one day, never to be heard from again.
Followers of all three forms had various abilities which, not only kept us alive and allowed us to fight, but also literally defined who we were, and our sense of identity. When these abilities suddenly ceased to be reliable, we either died, or we experienced the kind of torment which the young Tauren before me was now. Our relationship with our animals, our prey, and the very land itself came into question.
I knew that the young Tauren's confusion and pain were due to this. He had been taught to fight in a particular way, and that if he did so, he would be successful. This had ceased to be true, and as a result, he doubted himself terribly. He had not learned anything else, but now, due to the strange curse which had recently befallen the Beast Masters, he would need to embrace another way.
As I considered what I was about to do, I was reminded of something else. I remembered the pain I had experienced, when in a meeting of the Hunters' Guild, I had finally been cast out. I remembered the Beast Masters' constant taunting and jeering of those of my form, about how we were inferior and always would be. I knew that this was partly why Arland had walked away, and another of our elders, Rakan, had gone back to his home in Desolace, to resume his life as a mystic. I also remembered how savagely yet another of us, Mekhilosio, had been attacked, when he described how he had been able to help others.
I knew that I could respond to this young Tauren now, as many of those of his form had often responded to me and mine, for years without stopping; with laughter, mockery, and insults. The time had come when I could repay cruelty for cruelty, and gloating for gloating. I could kick him when he was down, and in his current state, break his spirit such that he would no longer want to live at all. I had felt much anger towards many of his form before, and for a time, at least, I possibly could have deluded myself that to do that would have been an act of justice.
I also knew, however, that such was not the Survival way, but in fact, the direct opposite of it. That of everything else we might have known, there was ultimately nothing more important in the preservation of our own lives, and that of others, than compassion.
To be a true Survivalist was to be an outcast. It had always been that way. The Beast Masters and Marksmen carried some legitimacy, both in the eyes of each other, and in the rest of Azeroth and Draenor; but us, never. We were the dreamers, the insane; ridiculed, kicked, and spat on.
More than anything else, our path had required broad shoulders, thick skin, and a realisation that to be Survival was to be alone; but it was also to follow your conscience and your own identity. It wasn't something that was done because it was easy, or painless, or beautiful, because it was none of these. It was, however, something that was done for the love of it, despite all of the abuse we received.
And so, taking a deep breath, and closing my own eyes for a few seconds, I gathered together all of the pain that they had ever caused me...and let it go.
When the young Tauren had regained his composure, his vision was suddenly partly obscured by an open green hand. He took it, and I hauled him to his feet.
"What is your name, son of the Horde?" I asked him.
"Caurmahe," he answered. "I do not understand why it is now so much harder for me to kill my prey. They used to fall easily, but now they go from my wolf to me, and it is all we can do to avoid being eaten by them."
I offered him my shoulder, and his wolf began to limp along next to my cat as well, in the direction of the nearest settlement. The Argent Crusaders there would no doubt have a healer among them, who could take care of him for a few days.
"Well, Caurmahe," I replied, as we walked. "Did any of those who you spoke to, mention that we have traps which can produce fire, as well as frost and ice?"
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus; from the Statue of Liberty.
I was riding through northeastern Zul'Drak, in the early evening. It should rightfully have been considered a horrible place, with savage, biting cold, the mad remnants of the Drakkari, and the ever-present threat of being overrun with Scourge. Still, I found that somehow, I was able to like it.
I'd come here hunting the local raptors; their skins were more highly prized at the bazaar in Dalaran than most, and I was sorely in need of extra money, of late. However, as I was about to look for another raptor, I noticed a Tauren male who had already begun fighting one, only 30 yards or so in front of me.
He was a young bull. I could immediately tell from the speed of his movements and the lack of scars on his arms. It reminded me of old Tarukhe, and what he must have been like, at that age.
The Hunt was a thing of great wonder for the young, and they threw themselves into it with all the extra energy that came with their youth. It was, therefore, the most dangerous part of any Hunter's career, I realised ruefully, chuckling. Hunters who survived the taking of their first few beasts, generally slowed down and learned more respect for their prey.
This young one's fight began to go badly. Although he fired the rapid succession of smaller, lighter arrows that were a signature of the Beast school, for reasons that he could not understand, it was to no avail. The shots were deflected by the raptor's tough hide, and it continued its' attack.
The raptor had let much blood out of both him and his wolf, and as they panted with exhaustion, closed in for the kill. No doubt the creature thought he would be eating royally tonight, and that this prey would be the envy of the rest of his pack.
I rapidly drew one of the new black powder tipped arrows that we had recently learned to make, lit the fuse with a stone I carried for the purpose, and fired it at the raptor's feet, blowing a hole in the stone of the ruins. The beast was stunned momentarily, turned, looked at me, kicked both the Tauren and his wolf to the ground, and then ran off.
After a moment, the Tauren pulled himself up into a sitting position, but then simply sat for a long while. There was a look of confusion, shock, and great pain on his face, and as I watched, his dark eyes slowly filled with tears, and he began weeping, bellowing out his agony to the stars.
I understood, and averted my eyes, allowing him his dignity. This was not caused by the slashes which the raptor's claws had opened on his arms. This was from something far deeper.
The Hunters of Azeroth and Draenor had, over the course of many ages, discovered and refined three unique forms in which we could fight and hunt.
These were the way of the Beast, which allowed greater communion with animals, and which had traditionally been the first path of our young, as this Tauren was. They had grown to be called the Beast Masters. These had been the most numerous of the three, and their leader within the Hunters' Guild on Azeroth was a fierce and hot tempered, yet very wise and aged Dwarf, with an enormous red beard. His name was Briac.
There was also the way of the Bow, which my Draenei friend Romochka followed; they were called the Marksmen, due to their greater skill with the bow than the rest of us. The Marksmen were still great in number, but despite this, they had little formal representation within the Hunters' Guild. As such, Romochka had come to be recognised as master among them, although reluctantly, and he did not like it when others mentioned this.
Finally, there was the third path, of which I myself had been a native for many years. This was for those of us who embraced both of the above, but who, in addition, had developed a greater ability and will to avoid death. Because of this, we came to be called the Survivalists, and we had traditionally been the rarest of the three. The greatest of our elders, Arland, had simply walked away into the wilderness one day, never to be heard from again.
Followers of all three forms had various abilities which, not only kept us alive and allowed us to fight, but also literally defined who we were, and our sense of identity. When these abilities suddenly ceased to be reliable, we either died, or we experienced the kind of torment which the young Tauren before me was now. Our relationship with our animals, our prey, and the very land itself came into question.
I knew that the young Tauren's confusion and pain were due to this. He had been taught to fight in a particular way, and that if he did so, he would be successful. This had ceased to be true, and as a result, he doubted himself terribly. He had not learned anything else, but now, due to the strange curse which had recently befallen the Beast Masters, he would need to embrace another way.
As I considered what I was about to do, I was reminded of something else. I remembered the pain I had experienced, when in a meeting of the Hunters' Guild, I had finally been cast out. I remembered the Beast Masters' constant taunting and jeering of those of my form, about how we were inferior and always would be. I knew that this was partly why Arland had walked away, and another of our elders, Rakan, had gone back to his home in Desolace, to resume his life as a mystic. I also remembered how savagely yet another of us, Mekhilosio, had been attacked, when he described how he had been able to help others.
I knew that I could respond to this young Tauren now, as many of those of his form had often responded to me and mine, for years without stopping; with laughter, mockery, and insults. The time had come when I could repay cruelty for cruelty, and gloating for gloating. I could kick him when he was down, and in his current state, break his spirit such that he would no longer want to live at all. I had felt much anger towards many of his form before, and for a time, at least, I possibly could have deluded myself that to do that would have been an act of justice.
I also knew, however, that such was not the Survival way, but in fact, the direct opposite of it. That of everything else we might have known, there was ultimately nothing more important in the preservation of our own lives, and that of others, than compassion.
To be a true Survivalist was to be an outcast. It had always been that way. The Beast Masters and Marksmen carried some legitimacy, both in the eyes of each other, and in the rest of Azeroth and Draenor; but us, never. We were the dreamers, the insane; ridiculed, kicked, and spat on.
More than anything else, our path had required broad shoulders, thick skin, and a realisation that to be Survival was to be alone; but it was also to follow your conscience and your own identity. It wasn't something that was done because it was easy, or painless, or beautiful, because it was none of these. It was, however, something that was done for the love of it, despite all of the abuse we received.
And so, taking a deep breath, and closing my own eyes for a few seconds, I gathered together all of the pain that they had ever caused me...and let it go.
When the young Tauren had regained his composure, his vision was suddenly partly obscured by an open green hand. He took it, and I hauled him to his feet.
"What is your name, son of the Horde?" I asked him.
"Caurmahe," he answered. "I do not understand why it is now so much harder for me to kill my prey. They used to fall easily, but now they go from my wolf to me, and it is all we can do to avoid being eaten by them."
I offered him my shoulder, and his wolf began to limp along next to my cat as well, in the direction of the nearest settlement. The Argent Crusaders there would no doubt have a healer among them, who could take care of him for a few days.
"Well, Caurmahe," I replied, as we walked. "Did any of those who you spoke to, mention that we have traps which can produce fire, as well as frost and ice?"
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Suggestions for Pike
Got some suggestions for Pike, since in amongst random Orcish rages, trolling, and being deeply inappopriate and offensive, I occasionally like to try and help people if I can. ;-)
This Survival spec comes straight from the forums. According to WWS, it managed 6.7k DPS against Patchwerk. It wouldn't end up being my spec of choice full time, since I'm fond of Resourcefulness for farming, even with the LnL CD, but if I ever decide that I can be bothered going into Naxx again, I'd probably use it there.
As for rotation, the ex-BM crowd will tell you to use pure Steady as the only other thing with Explosive, but unless you are haste capped, I actually won't. I know my gear is universally considered garbage, but in Heroics last night with no group buffs and no consumables either, (I'm poor at the moment) I hit 2.1k; which by the standards of probably any other server in the known universe, would probably still get me shot, but by the standards of Saurfang, is generally enough to top meters in both Naxx raids and 5 mans...and would still actually be enough to ensure that a group I was in didn't wipe on Patchwerk, even though it'd probably still get me a /gkick afterwards. ;-)
The rotation I'm using though is actually a somewhat tighter (in terms of more Steadies) version of the old 1:1.5. Serpent, Steady, ES, Steady, Multi, Steady, Steady. (repeat; usually with Serpent as well, since it will often need it by then)
The only way my rotation changes for Lock and Load is to do Steady, Explosive, Steady, Explosive, Steady, Explosive, and then generally Steady, Multi again immediately after that.
This Survival spec comes straight from the forums. According to WWS, it managed 6.7k DPS against Patchwerk. It wouldn't end up being my spec of choice full time, since I'm fond of Resourcefulness for farming, even with the LnL CD, but if I ever decide that I can be bothered going into Naxx again, I'd probably use it there.
As for rotation, the ex-BM crowd will tell you to use pure Steady as the only other thing with Explosive, but unless you are haste capped, I actually won't. I know my gear is universally considered garbage, but in Heroics last night with no group buffs and no consumables either, (I'm poor at the moment) I hit 2.1k; which by the standards of probably any other server in the known universe, would probably still get me shot, but by the standards of Saurfang, is generally enough to top meters in both Naxx raids and 5 mans...and would still actually be enough to ensure that a group I was in didn't wipe on Patchwerk, even though it'd probably still get me a /gkick afterwards. ;-)
The rotation I'm using though is actually a somewhat tighter (in terms of more Steadies) version of the old 1:1.5. Serpent, Steady, ES, Steady, Multi, Steady, Steady. (repeat; usually with Serpent as well, since it will often need it by then)
The only way my rotation changes for Lock and Load is to do Steady, Explosive, Steady, Explosive, Steady, Explosive, and then generally Steady, Multi again immediately after that.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Explosive Shot added to my blogroll
As Arde just requested, I have added a link to his blog, Explosive Shot. The blog is apparently brand new; he only just made it from what he said, so please go and give him some encouragement.
Thoughts on 3.0.8.
Haven't played too much since the patch hit yet, so can't comment too much, though did do a CoS pug earlier.
So far, ES feels about the same for me, though early WWS logs suggest a rise of close to 2k DPS since pre-patch, among Naxx Hunters.
If the 30 second Lock and Load CD is there, it's silent. I also didn't notice it on single targets, since I generally take around 30 seconds per kill on single mobs anyway. There is no visible icon when it goes off, if it does, either.
I'm still here, and will be going back into the game after writing this to do some Heroics. There is hysteria among BM Hunters on the forum at the moment, although that is predictable.
I can't give Santyn those ArkInv rules I owe him yet, either; because AI has apparently been messed up by the patch. It's maintenance was shaky before 3.0.8 as it was, so I hope someone will come forward to pick it up.
I am staying.
So far, ES feels about the same for me, though early WWS logs suggest a rise of close to 2k DPS since pre-patch, among Naxx Hunters.
If the 30 second Lock and Load CD is there, it's silent. I also didn't notice it on single targets, since I generally take around 30 seconds per kill on single mobs anyway. There is no visible icon when it goes off, if it does, either.
I'm still here, and will be going back into the game after writing this to do some Heroics. There is hysteria among BM Hunters on the forum at the moment, although that is predictable.
I can't give Santyn those ArkInv rules I owe him yet, either; because AI has apparently been messed up by the patch. It's maintenance was shaky before 3.0.8 as it was, so I hope someone will come forward to pick it up.
I am staying.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Why Explosive Shot needs the buff
I just did another Heroic CoS run, this time as 51 point Surv. From 2k DPS the other night, my damage in this last run fell to just under 1200; a drop of more than 800 DPS.
However, here's the reason why. In that run where I got 2k, I was using virtually nothing other than Volley. At the moment, if you're not Beast Mastery, your damage is pretty much entirely based on either Chimera or Volley.
In this run where I got around 1190 DPS, I trap danced, kept Serpent up, and was getting Lock and Load procs pretty much all the time; so if I wanted to use ES, I literally didn't have time for Volley, and even if I did use Volley, my damage from it was down radically due to no longer having Barrage or TSA anyway. ES, however, in its' current form, is just too weak.
ES' coefficient being raised to 18% is not going to make Survival overpowered. It will make us competitive, and in terms of raw, direct damage, it will be literally the first time in this game's history when we will be.
During TBC, Expose Weakness was advocated as the reason for taking a Survival Hunter, but it raised everyone else's damage, which meant that a lot of the time, we were still behind. The reason why we need that 18%, is because aside from traps and Serpent, which everyone else laughs at, that 18% is almost all we have. We don't have BM's speed, or Marks' RAP bonuses. LR and EW alone don't go anywhere near far enough to make us competitive with other people's damage, and truthfully they never have.
The other point is, Survival isn't a stationary tree; stand and fire largely without moving might be the BM or Marks playstyle, but it isn't Surv's. We need an ability which synergises with what we do; kiting.
It's been nearly four years, but I've had a funny feeling for a while now that WoTLK was going to be the expack where we would finally see Survival's true ascension. Assuming the ES buff survives the PTR, in pure damage terms, Survival's mobile playstyle is about to become irrefutably viable for the very first time.
I'm looking forward to it.
However, here's the reason why. In that run where I got 2k, I was using virtually nothing other than Volley. At the moment, if you're not Beast Mastery, your damage is pretty much entirely based on either Chimera or Volley.
In this run where I got around 1190 DPS, I trap danced, kept Serpent up, and was getting Lock and Load procs pretty much all the time; so if I wanted to use ES, I literally didn't have time for Volley, and even if I did use Volley, my damage from it was down radically due to no longer having Barrage or TSA anyway. ES, however, in its' current form, is just too weak.
ES' coefficient being raised to 18% is not going to make Survival overpowered. It will make us competitive, and in terms of raw, direct damage, it will be literally the first time in this game's history when we will be.
During TBC, Expose Weakness was advocated as the reason for taking a Survival Hunter, but it raised everyone else's damage, which meant that a lot of the time, we were still behind. The reason why we need that 18%, is because aside from traps and Serpent, which everyone else laughs at, that 18% is almost all we have. We don't have BM's speed, or Marks' RAP bonuses. LR and EW alone don't go anywhere near far enough to make us competitive with other people's damage, and truthfully they never have.
The other point is, Survival isn't a stationary tree; stand and fire largely without moving might be the BM or Marks playstyle, but it isn't Surv's. We need an ability which synergises with what we do; kiting.
It's been nearly four years, but I've had a funny feeling for a while now that WoTLK was going to be the expack where we would finally see Survival's true ascension. Assuming the ES buff survives the PTR, in pure damage terms, Survival's mobile playstyle is about to become irrefutably viable for the very first time.
I'm looking forward to it.
Monday, December 22, 2008
A couple of good Heroics
Went to both H: The Culling of Stratholme, and H: The Nexus last night. Got what I felt were some very good results, as well.
Just a hair over 2k DPS. Given that I'm still in a mix of blues and quest greens, I don't feel that that is too bad.
By the end of the Nexus run, I'd dropped down to 1.3-1.4k, but earlier peaked at around 1.7k, and per-fight damage was recorded by someone else as being just under 1k while kiting Keristrasza.
I got some nice drops, as well. The Dragon Slayer's Sabatons from Keri, and the Spaulders of the Careless Thief from Grand Magus Telestra, which was a tough fight.
My next goal is the Drake-Mounted Crossbow from Heroic Utgarde Keep, and I'm also currently wearing the Argent Crusade tabard in order to get a Polished Regimental Hauberk.
I do not recommend my current talent spec to other people, however. As well as being extremely dependent on buffs and consumables, its' mana efficiency is absolutely terrible; I chug pots like a madman. I am using it because a dual EW/TSA spec is something I've been wanting to try for a very long time; since pre-3.0, in fact.
Although the total amount of RAP I get from it is genuinely wonderful, the Steady Shot nerf post-patch will also sadly mean that it will be truly non-viable then as well, at which point I will be going back to 51 point Surv.
Just a hair over 2k DPS. Given that I'm still in a mix of blues and quest greens, I don't feel that that is too bad.
By the end of the Nexus run, I'd dropped down to 1.3-1.4k, but earlier peaked at around 1.7k, and per-fight damage was recorded by someone else as being just under 1k while kiting Keristrasza.
I got some nice drops, as well. The Dragon Slayer's Sabatons from Keri, and the Spaulders of the Careless Thief from Grand Magus Telestra, which was a tough fight.
My next goal is the Drake-Mounted Crossbow from Heroic Utgarde Keep, and I'm also currently wearing the Argent Crusade tabard in order to get a Polished Regimental Hauberk.
I do not recommend my current talent spec to other people, however. As well as being extremely dependent on buffs and consumables, its' mana efficiency is absolutely terrible; I chug pots like a madman. I am using it because a dual EW/TSA spec is something I've been wanting to try for a very long time; since pre-3.0, in fact.
Although the total amount of RAP I get from it is genuinely wonderful, the Steady Shot nerf post-patch will also sadly mean that it will be truly non-viable then as well, at which point I will be going back to 51 point Surv.
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Hunter forum: Why it really angers me
I've just realised the single main reason why the official Hunter forum makes me so angry.
It isn't actually the utterances of, "lolsurvival," which are directed at me. I'm used to that stuff. I might not like it, but I can take it.
What really upsets me, however, is the attitude that is expressed towards newcomers who are trying to learn about Surv. Every single time a new Hunter posts a question asking what Survival is for, it is immediately deluged with vitriolic trolling about how useless the tree supposedly is.
Witness the fetid cesspool that this particular thread degenerated into, for example. Same scenario; a new Hunter asks what Surv is for, and immediately the trolls materialise.
I'm starting to think that the BM raiders who inhabit the forum are honestly afraid of anyone using Survival. I will never forget one particular thread where a newbie was asking questions, when the BM poster after me told the OP never to have anything to do with Survival whatsoever...and the tone of his writing was genuinely frantic.
I wish I understood what they feel so threatened by.
It isn't actually the utterances of, "lolsurvival," which are directed at me. I'm used to that stuff. I might not like it, but I can take it.
What really upsets me, however, is the attitude that is expressed towards newcomers who are trying to learn about Surv. Every single time a new Hunter posts a question asking what Survival is for, it is immediately deluged with vitriolic trolling about how useless the tree supposedly is.
Witness the fetid cesspool that this particular thread degenerated into, for example. Same scenario; a new Hunter asks what Surv is for, and immediately the trolls materialise.
I'm starting to think that the BM raiders who inhabit the forum are honestly afraid of anyone using Survival. I will never forget one particular thread where a newbie was asking questions, when the BM poster after me told the OP never to have anything to do with Survival whatsoever...and the tone of his writing was genuinely frantic.
I wish I understood what they feel so threatened by.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Surv mindset
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=98661929&sid=1
This is something I found buried in the archives of the Hunter forum yesterday. It's written by Yurch of Anatheron, a man who has mentioned being a real life Survivalist, in addition to playing a Survival Hunter in WoW.
As opposed to just playing with Surv as a talent tree, if you want a window into the underlying mentality, this thread is something I'd suggest reading. It's intended as humour, but as Shakespeare said, comedy is usually the container of the greatest truth.
This is something I found buried in the archives of the Hunter forum yesterday. It's written by Yurch of Anatheron, a man who has mentioned being a real life Survivalist, in addition to playing a Survival Hunter in WoW.
As opposed to just playing with Surv as a talent tree, if you want a window into the underlying mentality, this thread is something I'd suggest reading. It's intended as humour, but as Shakespeare said, comedy is usually the container of the greatest truth.
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