Remember this? “LFM Uld /w Achievement”

Well now it’s been replaced with this:

“LFM ICC10 /w GearScore”

“LFM ICC25 5.2k gs only”

“LFM weekly raid. /w gs and achievement”

GearScore - irrelevant!

In some ways it is slightly fairer. When idiotic raid leaders wouldn’t let you join a raid because you didn’t have the Achievement I could only wonder how you were supposed to GET the Achievement if no bugger would let you raid.

With GearScore it’s in your hands. Put the work in doing the daily random, the weekly raid and the odd bit of raiding and you can increase your GearScore on your own.

It’s being misused though, at least on my server. You try PUG-ing a raid now and unless you have already done eight of 12 bosses in ICC and managed to get your GearScore above 5.5k and you won’t even get in a ToC or Ulduar raid. Madness!

It’s been said many, many times – SKILLZ > GEAR. And the fact it is entirely possible to increase your GearScore with no help means that any old idiot can have the right score, but just can’t PLAY.

So come on you supposed IMBA raid leaders. Cut those of us who can’t play all day, every day some slack and invite us. We won’t let you down. We know what we’re doing. And if we don’t, because it’s our first attempt on a particular boss, don’t worry – we learn VERY fast.

(I should point out my GearScore is now over 5.7k – but that’s because I can PLAY, not because I’ve spent months farming Emblems of Frost)

Lately I’ve been changing Guild’s quite a lot. I think I’ve had four in two months. I ended up in a nice 25 man raiding Guild with a few WoW friends and we did well. It was led by a strong core of raiders and I tagged along in my usual capacity of non-idiot, fast learning DPS. It worked.

However, there was a falling out over something and that hardcore group went off to form their own Guild. I went with them for a short while, I thought I’d see how it went. Raiding-wise there was no change. A strong leader and a group of real class players and you get things done. Socially, however, it was different. Not friendly, just business-like. But as my online time has been drastically cut, I didn’t really mind.

Then the most bizarre thing. The Guild Master got hacked, allegedly. Ok, you ticket, you wait, you get restored. Or, in this case, half the hardcore raiders get pissed about it and QUIT WOW! Yep, not the Guild, WoW. This, of course, triggers Guild implosioon and I went floating for a day or two before I decided, sod it, get back with your pals where it doesn’t matter if you’re ever online or not, when you are they’ll be there for a laugh.

So I’m in Plan B (how ironic!) with a few of my old mates and no doubt a few more will drift over as time passes. We tend to end up in the same place because we’re all like minded. And WoW is meant to be a social game, isn’t it. Ok, we might not clear Icecrown Citadel with 25, but so what? What’s the point if it’s no fun?

Stick with your mates – that’s why they’re your mates.

Laters.

I'm bringing back up...

The thing that makes World of Warcraft so enduring – playability, diversity and sheer size aside – is the ability to have more than one character.

We all, I would think, have what we consider our mains. In my case, it is, of course, my Undead Warlock, Inoperante. He is my raiding and achievement toon (whore, my Guild would say!) and the one I began life in Azeroth with (if you ignore the failed attempt at a Night Elf Warrior that is).

But one can get very bored playing one character all the time, especially when the only thing left in the game to do is raid – and the same raids at that. The urge to log in each day fades until you end up not bothering to play at all.

So we turn to our ALTs. There are members of my Guild that have so many ALTs at level 80 it’s untrue. Me, I have just one, Slabs, my Tauren Warrior. Running a Guild lacking tanks kind of puts the onus on you to level one – so I did. In retrospect I should probably have rolled a Paladin for that task, but I did always want a warrior, hence the Night Elf anomaly!

It’s amazing how quickly I got him geared too. A few runs of Trial of the Champion, part runs of Ulduar and one full run of Trial of the Crusader and I can tank most bosses (skills aside – they lack, as my Guild mates would tell you!). Not only that, I can, without any effort, put out over 3,000 DPS in my Arms spec.

This has helped me retain my love for a game that otherwise would have bored me eventually.

And yet…there are classes and races I just cannot and will not play. For starters I am Horde. I will always be Horde. I cannot, for some reason, play Alliance. Despite starting there in my WoW career, I just can’t do it. What that says about me, I don’t know…

I am indifferent to the Night Elves, Humans and Draenei but I hate – HATE – Gnomes. I gank every one I see, I have to.

Dwarves, however, is a different story. I could play a Dwarf. Nothing stupid like a Warrior, but a Dwarf Hunter – yes, I could play that. If it wasn’t for the Alliance connection I would have a Dwarf. Bless there little woollen socks.

Other classes I won’t (can’t) play are Mages and Rogues. I simply cannot level a Mage, I just don’t have what it takes to make it work for me. I don’t enjoy it. Rogues are less annoying, but I find the early levelling really slow. The DPS just isn’t high enough for me to feel like I can progress.

Death Knights are clearly overpowered. I have one, Juggernought, that I play purely for the stress relieving damage output! I could never play one seriously though. Paladins are also overpowered, but in a more acceptable way. However, I find the 12-25 levels SO difficult to get through. I made it to 30 once…but have since deleted him. I regret it now…

I have a level 50-odd Hunter who I pop on now and then – though it has been a while! Hunters are fun but too similar to my Warlock to bother with too much.

So with Slabs happily gearing up and still questing for Gold, Inoperante very much my main, what am I doing now? Something, I am told, is insane – levelling a Priest…as Holy! My thinking is that I have a DPS and Tank class…I need a Healer. Logical, right?

Well, maybe, maybe not…but it’s the challenge that will keep me interested in World of Warcraft for many months to come. It will fill the gap between Icecrown coming out (surely less than a week or two now?) and Cataclysm launching (and then we’ll have Goblins and Worgen to play with!), that’s for sure.

And who knows…maybe, just MAYBE, one of these characters will supplant Inoperante as my main. I hear that happens too…

Do you use ALTs to keep your interest up? What classes and/or races do you favour or can you simply not play? Let me know in the comments.

I wasn’t there…but I’m proud of my premier raiding team.

Talk not type!

Well, maybe not your frustration…but mine.

Last night I tanked Trial of the Crusade (10-man) for the first time on my warrior. It really brought home the importance of Ventrilo (or Teamspeak if that is your thing).

We began with me and a new-ish Paladin tank and it did not go well. Why?

Well, our Paladin friend – a long standing Guild member for the record – did not have Vent installed. Hasn’t had for sometime and apparently can’t or won’t. That makes doing the taunting off each other very hard on the Impales. For me at least, typing while tanking is not an option. There’s too much to keep track of to break out and type. That’s just the way it is.

After a couple of wipes we swapped him out (and he had to go anyway).

Next came another Warrior tank and good friend of mine. Vent installed but no microphone so no speaking. A “Taunt” macro sufficed for him to let me know and he, of course, could hear me call for a taunt when I had two or three stacks of Impale. This made the first part of the Beasts of Northrend doable, but due to other factors we had him switch to healing and yet another Paladin tank joined me.

THIS tank, however, had Vent AND a microphone – and everything went fine first time out. We talked to each other, there was no panicking and even switching phases was handled smoothly. Communication – it’s key.

Ok, it’s not SO important for DPS – especially ranged DPS – and perhaps even less so for healers who are properly assigned. But for tanks – Ventrilo is now a must for any raid I am involved in as a tank. It’s a new rule.

For any raid leaders out there struggling on certain content that doesn’t at least have their tanks talking to one another in real time – make them or remove them. You WILL see the difference.