Happy New Year, what are your resolutions?

Happy New Year to each and everyone.

My resolutions are:

1) To get more active and get more exercise to help me lose some weight.

2) Drink less pop and more water to help with the above.

As to WOW:

1) Find a good guild, since my guild has basically been put on life support.

2) Get into Kara and beyond.

3) Learn to control my character better, using macros and keybindings instead of clicking. Not sure if I am going to go mouse movement or remap to use the numpad to move with.

Oh woah is me for trying to do BG daily quests

All night long we horde were either outnumbered or full of tards, but after 3 AB, I was able to complete the daily quest. Of course I had to get a couple WSG in and an EotS, the EotS was a nice quick loss as I joined in progress, but I got a mark which I don't have a lot of.

I need to read up on the strat for EotS too. OH and the AB "fix" has broken the horde side in my battlegroup. I haven't been in on a win yet. I am sad.

Anyway, I am back into WOW, now I just need to get my good computer back up and running. I am about to turn it over to a professional.

WTF? my Monitor is going crazy

Okay so tonight I watch a little TV after work, then come in to check email and my monitor is kinda fuzzy. Could be me, my blood pressure is a bit high due to not eating right and being way overweight, but it's odd. Could be the position of the monitor, it's a bit too low, needs to be raised up but it's too late to mess with tonight.

Dick made a comment about maybe the new job getting me back into WOW a bit more. Actually what's really keeping me down in WOW is the computer issue. I just need to get the MOBO replaced and I think I'll play more. Single digit FPS is just not a good thing. That and my server being a bit odd kinda makes for hard times. Anyone else see one side running the zone PvP stuff in Outlands and no one on your side wants to take it from them?

On another positive note, I traded in my 05 Kia Optima for an 07 Suzuki XL7. Payments went up but much bigger car. Seriously I am 6'4" and that Optima was way too small. What was I thinking?

Anyone got any cool plans for the Christmas Holidays? My family pretty much lives around here and we'll have Christmas over at my aunt's house with the big family and mostly just hang out here when not over there. Plus, I don't have any day off but Christmas Day, so that'll limit any cool plans.

My name is FTP and I cannot jumpshoot

Okay, sadly, I am a keyboard mover. I don't move with the mouse, can't get it to work right, it feels so...awkward. Heck, sadly, during my days in DragonRealms (text based RPG for the olde) I used to use the numpad for moving room to room and all the keyboard for macros and such. Sadly, I cannot do it in WOW. I am ashamed.

/stands
Hi. My name is Halkale and I cannot jumpshoot.
/hangs head in shame.

Oh yes, I know the idea and the process and can do it if I want to, but like I said, I cannot do it in the battle. Hence, why I probably suck so bad at the PvP thing. (although I usually do well because I know my class)

Here's what set this off. http://www.bigredkitty.net/2007/12/10/dont-shift-blame-solve-the-problem/

Please don't hurt me if you read this Shifttusk. Plug: http://roarhunterpvp.blogspot.com/

Back In PIE!

Okay I am back!

The previously mentioned new job is going well. I have a lot of opportunity for advancement there and they seem to like me. Yeah, strange right?

I still don't have my main computer fixed and it has really put a damper on my WOW playing. It's just hard to play the game at the lowest settings and almost come to a standstill in the major cities. I haven't even tried to do any instances.

I made 69 but dang what used to be most nights 3-4 hours has come out to be very little play time and barely even playing on the weekends.

Rant on:
My server's economy sucks bad. I put on a bunch of greens from the outlands and sold very little of it. Oh sure the runecloth and lower healing pots sold. My first server was pretty new and after about 6 months it started settling down especially after the transfers were opened. My current server transfers have been open for many months and still the economy is horrible. Rant off:

My guild is not going well, we keep losing folks and not really gaining as many. Of course, I haven't been around much so part of the problem is I don't think we are recruiting. The server seems to be very small especially on the horde side so that adds to the problem.

Oh for those of you who don't know, BRK has moved. Link has been updated.

My cat is falling so far behind. I try to bring her out when I am grinding mats for leather working and primals but it so hard to get her caught up. Plus, that charge aggro is so very nice. The Boar appears to be my main pet now.

Here's a newish pic of me and him.

Happy Thanksgiving to all...

For those away from their families during this time I hope you get a chance to speak with them on the phone. Just remember to tell them you love them every time, you never know when you won't get the chance again.

I am very thankful this year because I have a new job and I start December 3rd. Woot!

My main computer is down, it's the motherboard and I need to remove it and the CPU and memory and all the other stuff and get an RMA and send it back to the manufacturer. This sucks.

Got a new video card for my old computer but it still isn't as good as it needs to be to make WOW enjoyable.

I found out I could get a decent FPS by starting a new character. Apparently the lowbie zones don't have quite the FPS hit the outlands zones do. So, I started a Druid. He's now 22 level. I die a lot. A LOT!!!!

I plan on getting him to 29, getting economy twinked and getting some good amount of honor and marks from there.

MEDIC MEDIC!!! Computer down

I built my first PC with the help of my brother in law. It is a good computer. Sadly, apparently the power supply died. I have tried to play WOW on my older computer and it's so frustrating.

I cannot step foot into a city or get 15FPS. Combat is fun because all my macros and key bindings are on my other computer.

New Power supply on the way, hopefully I don't find more problems once it's installed. Sadly, I have to order the power supply as the one I want isn't carried locally.

Squad 51, this is Rampart.

And it was a wipe.

So, Ace of Spades--okay 3 of us, Shadow Priest, Rogue and myself and my boar pig, plus a Pally for healing and a warrior. I was running the group, marked the first two just inside the instance and bam grabbed aggro on the PAT guy. We adjusted and got through it.

Overall, this was a good group, flexible and when a pull went bad or something odd happened, or someone screwed up (and we all did) we overcame it and moved on. A few deaths, the rogue had to vanish the first time on the 2nd boss to prevent the wipe. Warrior went to sword and board and I kept the healer in the back to heal him up. Of course a dang blue mace dropped. No loot for me.

Dragon boss, oh the huge mannatee. We wiped, twice. Apparently, the warrior wasn't geared well enough to stay alive and the minute he lost aggro, the priest goes down or the pally and usually meant I was the last one standing, with the rogue vanishing to keep the wipe from occuring. OH wait, that boss resets anyway.

Anyone have any idea of a plan for that boss? Do we just need to find a tank that can stand up to the dragon? How do we transition from the humanoid boss to the dragon boss?

Of course, I turn in the letter you get and DING, 62. Oh and I am now honored with Thrallmar. Woot, Leatherworking recipes! and now to get honored with Centarion Expedition.

GAHHHH more WSG marks

So last night I look down at my stacks of marks and realize (incorrectly) I only need 5 more WSG marks to get my Kodo! The first game is like a root canal with no drugs and a blind dentist. We lose 3-0 because we have less than zero offense. Is it just me or does WSG tend to attract the morons of WOW? Like all the morons waiting to jack up every PUG are waiting in WSG to mess that up?

So I get my five marks and rush to Org to turn them in and get my kodo and get to Outlands to build my bank up for the Epic riding skill. Wait...what? it's 30 marks each. (fist shake)

So, tonight I get to hang out in WSG. I am sooooo very happy.

Anyone playing the PTR and have word on the changes to AV?

Where in the world is Hal the hunter?

Okay it's been a few days since my last post. Ooops.

Well life has been busy for me. Work sucks, what's new... My friends and I left Blood Line and created our own guild called Ace of Spades. I've been developing our forums and working on a website, so I have that going for me. ;)

As you can see I also made 58, ran through the portal and made 59 a few hours later. Upgrades are plentiful.

Yes, I have had my first Fel Reaver death. That is a funny story actually. I avoided Fel Reaver deaths during my time soloing over the weekend. Yesterday, our 58 priest walked into Outlands and we were getting him caught up to me. We avoided a Fel Reaver and I called it a bad word and it NO LIE came back for me!

As soon as the website is more than just a filler website I'll link it.

Are the Epic PvP rewards worth it at 60?

I enjoy playing in the battlegrounds and would really like to spend some time in there as I get closer to 60. Maybe when I hit 60, I'll go hang out in AV for a long time.

So my question is this, are the PvP epic rewards worth it? Or will a few hours in Outlands replace them quickly?

Edit: Thanks for the responses. Yes I've been to Outlands on my dwarf hunter and noticed how quickly I moved from sucky old world greens to OL greens! I just wasn't sure how quickly one might replace the "OMG PURPLEZZZZZ" epics from PvP, since I didn't really do PvP on my dwarf.

Is that a shiny spear on your back or are you happy to see me?

Well earlier today I snuck into AV and got a win on my first time in the battleground. So, yes you see I have the Ice Barbed Spear. I had a guildy throw a +15 Intel on the spear too. Why? Well, I have a goodly amount of agility already and mana consumption is normally my problem.
I think you should have your enchants and armor/weapons be a complete set instead of pieces. In other words, does the totality of the "set" work for your playstyle. End game I probably wouldn't do this, but that spear will carry me through a long time and now if I see stamina/agility type armor I can work on that and still have a decent amount of intel.

Lost in a guild, how do you avoid this?

Blood Line looks like a really good guild, lots of activity, the 70's are working on getting everyone keyed for Kara and it seems the lower level folks are helping each other.

That's all well and good for me as I am used to working solo until I need help with an instance.

But, the question before us to day, is how do I not get lost in the guild. How do I work through the leveling process and not become just a member or a number? How do I become a positive addition to a guild and still have the ability to do what I want to do? I want to get into later instances and do end game stuff. I suspect I'll have plenty of time as I don't doubt I'll be 70 for an extended period of time prior to the new expansion coming out.

Merge to a new guild

I am level 49 now and finally got the Grimlock's Charge to drop. While farming the back part of Uldaman for it, we got an invitation to merge our guild with another. Most of us joined the new guild, including most of the higher level folks, as I see.

The problem? I went from being one of, if not the, top hunter in my smaller guild, to middle of the pack in a larger guild. Time will tell if I can make a spot for myself.

Apparently the armory thing above didn't update on last night's exit. hrm..

Cooking and fishing....

Okay so I have 169 Fishing and 295 Cooking. The only real yellow recipe for me is one that uses Mightfish, which apparently take over 400 in Fishing.

Seriously, why does a recipe that takes 275 Cooking need an item you need 100+ more in another skill to get?

I do suppose it's not horrible since you can skill up fishing by just catching fish. Heck I can skill up fishing for deviate fish so I can get my pirate or ninja mojo!

Brew Fest

Well they finally got the "Barker" quests fixed on QD. I was able to do the run my first time. I did okay on my barrel quest, but let the darn ram go into exhausted too many times.

I will have a ram though, if I keep this up.

Building a Hunter

First and foremost, you want to know the best talent build for a hunter, look no further than http://bigredkitty.blogspot.com There is just no reason not to build as you level exactly the way he tells you to in the first 40 points. Want to build for a battle ground twink? Well maybe BM isn't the way to go early in your life. Most WSG/AB battles are quick and you need damage output in short bursts, so MM might be the way to go. After you get intimidation though, you cannot stay away from BM. In fact, depending on how you play AB or WSG, it might be best to stay BM. I did, until the last week or so in 39 and I switched over to MM to try it out.

What build determines the best build for you? Playstyle mostly. Of course, this is a moot point until you reach up into your higher levels. BM has been considered the best leveling build by most hunters. It buffs your pet, makes him an effective tank and your pet does enough damage to hold aggro well. As a MM, you can crit a few times and grab aggro. Survival is really an end game type of build, it requires a lot (read 600+) agility to really shine.

But build discussion isn't my main concern here. That you can find everywhere. My main concern here is what armor, stats etc should I look for as I build my hunter.

Here are some facts. Hunters are designed to do their damage at range. They are designed to use their pets to help them stay at range. A hunter uses mana. In a perfect world, a hunter should never take damage except when stealing aggro or adds or those pesky casters that suddenly switch targets.

Let's examine the facts.

Hunters are designed to do their damage at range. Okay so why do we carry melee weapons. Well, for one thing, you at some time, will have something get to melee on you. For the first 10 levels you don't have a pet to tank for you. But the real reason we have melee weapons (ok how about the nicest reason) is for you to be able to bonus your stats. What stats you ask? Agility, Stamina and Intelligence. Also, Ranged Attack Power (or attack power), Hit, Crit Chance, etc. For the most part, as you are moving up through the levels you will see plus to Stats though.

Notice that in this there isn't a need for strength. Or Spirit.

So, what do you need to look for on the AH etc?

First things first. Once you pass level 10, you should be working to not pull aggro off your pet. Keep it trained with the highest level of claw and growl, or gore, if you go with the ravager or boar. After that your armor doesn't matter as much. Work on saving money because at the very first you will move through levels so quickly, spending a ton of cash on armor/weapons won't pay off.

There is one exception. Your ranged weapon of choice should always be as up to date as possible. A point here: Range weapons with special procs or some such won't be as nice as additional stats bonuses. If you get a nice drop, certainly use it, but don't drop a bunch of gold on it. You want to save for your mount and have cash left over for a nice enchant if you get a nice blue. See, a blue might last you 5-6 levels, if nothing else is good out there.

I try to spend nothing on armor/weapons until i get to the capital city through questing. As a hunter you can use leather and cloth, get a cloth drop and it's an upgrade to your armor area? Put it on. Especially early when they don't soulbond.

As you begin to progress you might notice armor starts to get stats added to the areas. You should be looking for of the Falcon, of the Eagle and of the Monkey armor pieces. These carry your top three stat needs. Falcon is nice due to bonus to Agility and Intel. Monkey is nice for Agility and Stamina. And Eagle is Intel and Stamina.

A point here. Try to work your entire armor and weapon set as a whole. In other words if you find a piece that bonuses agility heavy on one slot, put intel or stamina in another. Oh and another point, single stat pieces don't usually sell for as much as multiple bonus ones. Might mean a good deal can be had on a of Stamina or of Intel piece.

I have more to write but I am rambling now so I want to end this and think things through a bit before continuing.

Friday Thoughts: Patch 2.2 Hated it!

Welcome to my new Friday post recurring thing. Random thoughts like other folks do, but purely my own. Or sometimes I steal them.

This new AH thing...it sucks. Strike that, it sucks and blows. It sucks and blows more than an F5 (enhanced) tornado. Currently it messes with 2 of my addons. 2!

BRK is detailing the new hunter pet here. http://bigredkitty.blogspot.com/2007/09/patch-22-aint-even-cool-yet.html

yes, fel reavers will rock.

Apparently we are going to be able to tame Warlocks later in the patch sequences, so will that be taming cross faction? I would love to have a little gnome warlock. mmmmm

Okay, my Royals suck. They suck less this year than last. They suck less than the new AH thing. I have tickets to tonights, Saturday and possibly Sunday's games. Tonight is a Buck night. Hot Dogs, small peanuts and the sip of pop cups are only a dollar. Good times. Oh it's also Fireworks Friday. They put on a good show and Fireworks are always good.

Next month contains Customer Service week. Be sure to be nice to them.

Did I mention that the new AH mail thing sucks?

Why is there a lack of bows and guns and 2 handed axes in the mid 40's to 50's area?

Woot 45 and the pet caught up!

So I dinged to 45 and the pet dinged to 44 right before I dinged. Finally, all the work is done and the cat is up to my level. Put her in the stable and picked up prowl 2 from an elder shadowmaw while I was in STV.
Next stop, Feralas.

Of course, there won't be much time to play this weekend as I have things to do this weekend. Oh well, I accomplished my goal of getting to 45 this week.

New guild....

Here's hoping that we found a new guild that has a bit more activity than the last one. So far looking good.