Turn of DPS

Husband and I came to this guild so that we could stay on server. One of the key points to staying on server was regular raiding. We are two DPS. That had its challenges.

When we joined they were recruiting a rogue or two. They had 4 raiding warlocks… my time was not likely.

The Rogue was into raids. Husband was suddenly the third Rogue. And the only Combat Rogue. Once they got the three way tricks of the trade going they were fine.

Husband can run raids seven days a week. Me? Not so much.

Suddenly all the locks but one vanished. (You cannot prove that I did anything to them. *cough*)

I am now the second warlock.

I think I would go insane if I regularly raided seven days a week.

We run 25s four days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The number of days does change depending on sign ups. Only two are progression nights.

That would be fine. My issue right now is… 10 mans.

Husband has been in an established 10 man. There was some trouble with tanks but they are working that out.

I was doing 10 mans on Moly for a while. Raids were going to be back to back. My Horde raid would end and then I would have to run to my Alliance raid.

It seemed really hard to justify taking a spot when I would have to leave at raid time with no expectations. Plus my horde guild seems to have some great people signing up for raids.

Plus I need to find time to eat. 

Here I am now months into raiding with my guild. I do not have an established 10 man raid group. I have mostly messed around in alt runs or filled in a night or two. I have been asked by my Husband's group to attach myself to them. I have now been asked by the guild leader to join his.

When the first 10 man asked me I made a deal. Sure I would join only if OS3D is done. “No Problem” I was told.

The guild leader asked me one week to come in for Sindragosa. My answer? “Sure if we do OS3D first.” He would have to ask of course.

Truthfully, I was using up all my opportunities to come into a raid that had all but two bossed down. It was not so much the loot I minded losing but that was a lot of Emblems of Frost. We were able to 9-man OS3D since the 10th didn’t log in until 25 minutes after start of raid time.

I don’t think I could commit to a 10 man from start to finish on the three non-25s nights. I like PVP, fishing, playing Horde, doing random crap, and even being off game. *gasp*

Right now I have choices. It is good to be wanted DPS. At the same time … I am watching the TV, sewing, and Sudoku.

This DPS can be bought for an OS3D run.

I think that makes me a DPS whore? Yes, Hydra, you are a DPS whore, wear it proudly. I can be bought!

... still. I do need to find a blanace between raiding and other things in my life. I don't know what to do about the 10 man raiding.

DPS is replaceable.

I have gotten a lot of grumpy remarks for saying this….

DPS is replaceable.

I have learned to live by this. To use this. To embrace the good and bad of this statement.

The bad: Getting swapped out and replaced.

The good: You really can say “No” and know they will go find someone else.

I don’t recall a raid that did not happen because I was the only one who said “No, I don’t want to go.”

I Cried

… you want to fight about it??!!

Everyone starts off new.

I was not use to being new. That first month in guild was tough.

Everyone is now whispering into the raid. I am now in this quickly filling up raid of 24, 25, 26, …, 31, 32 raiders.

I watch the raid leaders move unfamiliar names (to me) into groups 1-5. They get to go in and play when I sit in group 8… NOT going.

I indicated I am willing but … I am literally benched.

But I know I still have to be in vent… so I know the strategies if/when I am brought in.*grumble*

Truthfully I had a few “moments”. That went like this…

*Hydra staring at the screen*

/Y Don’t THEY *points angrily at the screen* know who I am! Don’t THEY know what I can do! I get to call out stuff. DON’T THEY KNOW MIMIRON IS MY BITCH. MALYGOS IS MY LEFT SHOE. Of course they don’t! Bitches.

[Husband] I hear yelling. Are you ok?

[Hydra] Yes I am fine. I’m making popcorn, want some?

This is just the normal time waiting in the wings. Waiting for a chance to prove I can move out of the fire. Waiting for a chance to dps to the point of breaking my gear.

It took some time for me to get use to the swapping people in and out for some boss fight. Changes were mostly based on if you needed gear from the encounter. Not necessarily about classes.

I took the time to ask more questions.

I observed how people interacted with each other.

I made notes on who or what I didn’t like.

At the same time looked at the reason it was that way. I ended up scribbling out or answered the things that concerned me.

I finally get into a TOC25. I have run the TOC10 a dozen times before with no problem. I died in an Icehowl crash.
…
…
I was so pissed I cried. Is that not NUTS! I, Hydra, cried cause I DIED on a boss that I have done a gazillion times.

I laid down to sleep after raid and had to get up again. I was so pissed that I couldn’t stop crying like a BOY. I cried like a little boy who just scrapped their knee. It was not even doing something cool like trying a wheelie.

I let myself down.

I quickly got over it.

Still… I did cry.

I am quite sure it was a bruised ego. Truthfully I didn’t realize I even had an ego. Being new will test what ego you do have. You will be tested at every turn. Not only with what you do in raid, but what you say in guild chat, in raid, even in vent. You will be scrutinized by everyone in raid. Not only by the people who are suppose to be but EVERYONE.

Going through the door is the first step. Just like in a job, you now have to back up what you put on your guild application.

If you actually get all emotional for the first time EVER about the game don’t let anyone in guild know *looks at the calendar* until three or four months after the event… if at all.

Moly the Undying

Head back to December 30, 2009. Moly was sitting in a raid for some Ulduar hardmodes. Unfortunately we only had seven in raid and we were not looking to PUG the other spots.

Tanks
Morbid the Grumpy, if there is a not so bright spot on a sunny day he would be in it. Even with that if you can get him to smile, you know it was at someone’s expense.

Uba the OP, as a Pally tank should not be able to /AFK tank and go grab a drink. Once known around Almost Evil as “THE Mage”, he is the best mage I have ever run with.

Healers
Arch of the Broken Hand, priest that has a tendency to want to shadow. Who will be going into surgery for tendons in his hand in a few weeks.

Alo the New, Resto druid with a sweet voice and no idea what she got herself into by joining us.

DPS
Rybo the Guild Drunk, he can warlockery better drunk. Get him going in vent and you cannot get him to stop.

iLock the Sweet, he is my partner in crime in making fun of Rybo. He also doesn’t get to raid much so it is always a treat when we can.

Moly the Hunter, she is a noob hunter who only knows fights from the warlock perspective.

Standing in Dalaran making stacks of Ink of the Sea, a call out for Naxxramas Undying was made.

Can we seven man Undying?
Why not!!

It will be better then farming more heroics and heck of a lot better then standing around Dalaran.

Here is the list of achievements Moly received on one run of Naxx.

• Sapphiron's Demise (10 player)
• The Hundred Club (10 player)
• Kel'Thuzad's Defeat (10 player)
• Subtraction (10 player)
• The Construct Quarter (10 player)
• The Safety Dance (10 player)
• The Plague Quarter (10 player)
• Arachnophobia (10 player)
• The Arachnid Quarter (10 player)
• The Military Quarter (10 player)
• The Dedicated Few (10 player)
• The Fall of Naxxramas (10 player)
• The Undying

With only three DPS we were 20 seconds off from getting the Patchwerk three minute kill. It was a clue that we were not going to have any trouble DPSing our way through the instance.

As a hunter I was suppose to kite Gluth’s adds. Well that didn’t go so well. I had no idea where they came from. I had no control. I didn’t do so hot. Half way through Uba took over the kiting and I turned to kill the boss fast.

I did have a close call with Heigan where on the first move I got a little singed. Scared me, I almost went down but with some quick heals and some focus I had no more problems.

We left Four Horsemen for last. For most of the run we talked about how we were going to do the fight. With only seven of us it was impossible to do and guarantee that no one would die.

We pulled in an eighth. An under-geared Holy Pally alt of a guildie who would be following Uba ensuring he didn’t go down. It was all we needed.

It was the most relaxing focused run I have ever done. There was joking and laughing. It was a really great time. We were all prepared to fail but stayed encouraged that we all had the knowledge to get this done. Yes, people died from frogger, but that was how we knew it was a Naxx run.

First Thoughts on Sindragosa

We now get a chance to kill the big dragon on the log-in screen. If this is not a sufficient reason for you to want to kill her think of it this way. Who do you see when you are DCed? Sindragosa

RAWR

Tankspot has some variations of boss placement. My tanks placed Sindragosa to the left of the stairs. At the point where the stairs end and the platform starts.

As ranged DPS you don’t have to worry about the Cleave, Tail Smash, and Frost Breath. As in all dragons there is just no reason for us to be in front or behind.

Unchained Magic… *growls* we will get back to that one.

Icy Grip sucks you into melee range of her. She then casts Blistering Cold. After the 5 second cast there is an AOE that kills anyone in a 25 yard area.

Demonic Portal is your friend. Put your portal out in ranged and after getting gripped you can port back to it.

Don’t rely on only your portal. You can portal on the run. MOVE. Portal. Then Move some more.

I had no problem at all in the first 10 attempts. I was caught once standing on my portal still to close, so I learned to keep moving. It happened because the tank needed to move the dragon and I didn’t adjust my portal placement.

Then there were the next few attempts. I kept moving … but started dieing from being to close. My portal failed and so I had to run like everyone else.

I needed to minimize my flight time when Icy Gripped. As we wiped and wiped I apparently was moving as FAR AWAY FROM ALL THE SMELLY RAIDERS as I could. I was at my max range. Really, it was nine guys running around for over two hours. I shoved some frost lotus (I know it is expensive but it was for a good cause) into my nose. Getting closer to the dragon shaved off flight time of the grip, giving me the 0.5 sec I needed to make the last few steps out of the AOE of death.

*sigh* Unchained Magic.

When you get Unchained Magic every time you cast you get one stack of Instability debuff on you. Each Stack will deal 2,000 damage when it falls off after 8 seconds after not casting. (No, you cannot just continually cast. It expires automatically after 30 seconds.)

Work with your healers. Initially I was allowing 5-6 stacks on me before waiting the 8 seconds for the debuff to drop off. Eventually we moved that to 8-9 stacks.

Every SB, Haunt, UA, Corr, CoA, and even a Life Tap will add a stack. I think even portaling to your Demonic Circle puts a buff on you. Our job is DPS. Standing there starring at dragon butt is not an option. Attacking with your wand does not put Instability stacks on you. Yea, I totally wand the dragon, that was more DPS then standing there.

Then there is an Air Phase. It is raid awareness. Raiders who are marked with the Frost Beacon and then Iced Tombed place themselves where the rest of the raid can line of sight the Frost Bombs.

I am a player that does not always look at the fight head on. I constantly mess with my camera angle and how far I am zoomed in or out. I also look at my toon from the side or even above. It is imperative for you to make a straight line from the Frost Bomb to the Ice Tomb to the top of your head.

To keep my trinket buffs up I DPS the Tombs only a bit. We had melee work on them.

An unexpected hard part was actually the transition from phase 2 (air phase) back to phase 1 (ground phase).

Affliction warlock DPS has to be ramped up. Our dots need to start ticking. By the time the dragon lands… all your work is gone. So I got a lot of time to learn to be efficient at starting the DPS cycle.

At 35% you go into the last ground phase. Sindragosa has all the same ground phase abilities but adds Mystic Buffet. Pretty much making you useless if you get Unchained Magic cast on you. You also get an Ice Tomb on a player that will help you manage your debuff stacks.

If raiders are not good with their spacing or they don’t anticipate where bad things can happen phase 3 is hard. Everyone needs to have controlled movement. Everyone needs to manage their debuffs.

I got to the point that if I had Unchained Magic it was more important that I do nothing so I survived at the end of the 30 seconds, than any DPS I could contribute at that point. Figure out what the debuffs look like and manage them accordingly.

A girl can only take so many 2%, 3% 7% wipes until the dragon finally dies. I did more damage then the other lock, completely must have been all the wanding I did (inserted only to annoy the other lock.)

With a dead dragon… we went after the Lich King.

[RL] What is the difference between real raiders and us?
[RL] They know how to get to the next boss.

We ran around. Went up and down elevators. Went around in circles. Crossed paths.

From Sindragosa’s room, turn left, go up the ramp. There is an elevator which puts you in a hallway facing the val’kyr room. Avoid the val’kyr as you run to the center transport that is now working. It takes you directly to the Lich King.

We got him to around 82% before we died a painful but swift death.

Heartbreaker

A good achievement to get on Valentine’s Day.

ICC Fun with Kilrogg

So…

Yea…

Bored warlocks are … bored.

If you are curious like I am…

Eye of Kilrogg DOES NOT agro trash.

Eye of Kilrogg DOES agro the boss.

Next time the RL goes /afk I will check out Lady Deathwhisper.