Awhile back I wrote a post about whether it was worth it to level another druid. I started out feral, and there are times I miss that spec’s flexibility. At the time, I didn’t like the idea of spending 50g here and there to switch back and forth.

My how times have changed. Money isn’t nearly the issue it was, since I did manage to pick up my epic flyer. The real difference, though, is gear. In the course of my raiding in Kara and SSC, I’ve gotten most of the healy drops I want. (Well, admittedly there are a few things I’d still like to see, like the [Lightfathom Sceptre] from Lady Vashj, but I haven’t yet killed that blasted Naga.)

Anyhow, I find myself getting the opportunity to roll on a lot of off spec stuff, since if nobody wants something, it doesn’t cost me anything to roll off spec. I’ve ended up with a number of great drops for both tanking and DPS, including the best tanking staff in the game, the [Wildfury Greatstaff].

So, just for giggles, I put on all the bear gear I had collected as an “off spec,” along with gap fillers from my feral days, like some of the clefthoof stuff. What did I end up with? Keep in mind I’m still resto spec’d in this gear, but I was around 20k armor, 10.5k HPs and 401 def. A couple gem swaps and I’m uncrittable.

I wonder. Could a resto spec’d druid tank Shadow Lab?

I’m in a bit of a pickle. I haven’t been spending as much time with my druid of late. Pummra has little room for upgrades right now (not that he’s all decked out, just that all his upgrades will come from either a ton of badges or raid drops) so he’s been relegated a bit to just raids when they come up.

So, it’s been all about the hunter. He was my original level 60 back in the pre BC days, but he didn’t get all that much play when BC hit. Sure, I got him to 70, but what happened was at the time I got to 70, there were about a dozen other 70 hunters in guild always looking for spots. We lacked healers, and Pummra was born. I probably ran my hunter through 5 or 6 instances post 70 before he got shelved. Needless to say, his gear stunk.

Now, the alliance I raid with has had an unexpected shortage of hunters, so I thought it might be a good time to get mine geared up and start running him in SSC. In the 3 weeks or so I’ve been playing him, I’ve made great strides in terms of gear, and got the old skill back. And, of course, he has a shiny purple mount.

/rambling off

On to my point. Should I use a shot rotation macro? Right now I have a few macros that I use, one to send the pet and cast Hunter’s Mark in one button, one to feed my pet, one to set a focus target, and one to cast distracting shot on said focus target. I’ve never used a shot rotation macro, and to be honest I’m hesitant to do so.

Is it just me, or is using macro a little bit like not actually playing? Will I still enjoy playing my hunter as I hit 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ad infinitum? Is using a macro to ensure that you don’t err in the graceful dance of a shot rotation a bit like cheating? All I hear is that my DPS will go up by X% if I use a shot rotation macro, or how I’m gimping my DPS output by doing it the old fashioned way.

All I use for my shot rotation is Quartz. It has a nice big cast bar for steady shot, and just above it is a second little autoshot bar. I know when I should hit steady based on the position of those two bars, and I think I do pretty well. If Kill Command lights up, it does throw me off for ONE rotation of steady, but that’s it. And there are times when I can get it just right and weave in KC with no issues.

Is it silly of me to be hesitant to use a macro? Perhaps I’m being a little bit hypocritical, since I obviously have no problem using other tools (namely addons) to make my job easier. If I’m going to be on such a high horse that I refuse to use a shot rotation macro, maybe I have to delete ALL combat related addons. No more Quartz. Nor more Grid and Clique for Pummra. No more Innvervator. No more Cooldown Timers.

I don’t see that happening.

Still, there is something I like about the manual way of doing things. For me it’s like a little game within a game to get my shot rotation right, and it’s a skill I have already spent some time developing. One of the most enjoyable things about combat for me, on either toon, is when I get in a zone. For Pummra it’s when I get into the flow of the GCD and my various click settings to deliver heals to the raid in a continuous stream. With Feroz (spanish for Iron, he’s a dwarf…though I hate the name now) my hunter, it’s that delicate balance of the manual shot rotation using Quartz.

I mean, I wouldn’t want a macro that I clicked and it figured out the perfect heal to cast with Pummra. I don’t know if I want a macro that in some way “figures out” what exactly I should be casting as Feroz.

I suppose I’ll find out more as I actually finish gearing enough to participate in SSC. One thing I couldn’t handle is severely gimping the raid DPS due to my moral superiority. We’ll see. I certainly don’t want to be the one BM hunter that can’t break 650 DPS.

I realize it’s been some time since I had a big, beefy gear post. Since I’ve been playing my hunter more, and trying to get him geared for 25 man raiding, I thought this might be appropriate. I also found that though there are vast numbers of sites with good lists for Druid gear, the same can’t be said of Hunters. Perhaps its due to the fact that it is much easier to find gear that works for a hunter. They do have both leather and mail available to them, after all, and what they shoot for (Agility, AP, Hit Rating) is pretty easy to find. Anyhow, here goes, slot by slot. I’m going to ignore rings, trinkets, melee weapons and cloaks, as there are just too many choices to pick through. Chances are you’ll happen across good items for these slots as you hunt down the others. All of these items come from normal mode instances (save one that comes from a quest), so if you can get a strong group to pull you through some heroics or Kara, obviously you can do better. It should make for a good starting point, however.

Ranged Weapon

There are three ranged weapons that all hover around the same quality level, one for each type. The Crossbow to get is the [Emberhawk Crossbow]. No agility or hit rating, but it does buff your crit and AP. This crossbow drops in the Arcatraz. The Gun to get, if you are dwarvenly inclined, is the [Telescopic Sharprifle], which drops off the final boss in the Mechanar. This gun has the same DPS rating as the crossbow, with the added benefit of both agility and AP. A solid choice.

Now then, if you’re completely lazy and just want a good starter bow NOW, you can’t do better than a [Valanos' Longbow], which can be had for around 20g on the AH, maybe less. My hunter is STILL using this bow, as I have been unlucky thus far with epic level ranged weapon drops. Some day that Big Bad Wolf will drop his [Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle]!

Head

Now, if you happen to be an engineer, you should have [Surestrike Goggles v2.0], which is one of the best head pieces in the game. If not, go for the [Beast Lord Helm], which also drops off of the last boss in the Mechanar. If you’re hoping for the gun, the Mechanar makes for a perfect instance to farm for multiple drops. This is also a good option because you might want to go for the 2 piece set bonus from Beast Lord, which reduces the cooldown on traps. This is VERY handy in heroics and beyond.

Shoulders

For the shoulder slot, the [Mantle of Perenolde] from the final boss in Old Hillsbrad is a solid choice. It has hit, crit, AP AND two red slots, perfect for +agi or +ap gems.

Belt

The [Rune-Engraved Belt] is a nice choice here. It has agility, AP and Hit rating, and it’s from a quest, so no hoping for it to drop. It comes from the Fel Embers quest in Shattered Halls.

Gloves

While you’re completing the above mentioned quest, you can also find a good pair of gloves. If you have the Beast Lord Helm already, you can get the [Beast Lord Handguards] from the final boss in Shattered Halls. These gloves will serve you VERY well. Sockets, Agility, AP, Stam and Int for a bonus, and a little hit rating if you socket for it. Nice gloves. If Kargath refuses to drop those, he also has the [Wastewalker Gloves] which are VERY nice in their own right. Once you’re into heroics, you can look for other Wastewalker pieces for the nice +hit set bonus. Sure, they’re maybe more for rogues, but they suit a hunter just fine as well.

Chest, Legs, Wrist, and Boots: Magisters’ Terrace

Now, I didn’t realize this when I began my research, but with the release of 2.4, a veritable cornucopia of good hunter gear was brought together in one instance. Magisters’ Terrace. Holy shnikies, Batman, there is some NICE gear in there. There are even epic drops from regular mode.

[Bracers of the Forest Stalker]

These drop off the first boss, just about everything we want in a pair of bracers, Agility, a socket, some AP, and some armor penetration to boot.

[Leggings of the Betrayed]

These legs also drop off Selin Fireheart, the first boss in MagT. Who knows, maybe you get lucky and these and the bracers BOTH drop. Very nice legs here – agility, 3 sockets, AP, and a little haste as an added bonus.

[Hauberk of the War Bringer]

Epic chest. Regular instance. You can’t beat that, eh? Now MagT is a tougher than most other regular instances (I’d call it half heroic), but is doable. You just need to be a little more careful with your group. This is an excellent chest that will serve you well for a good while, probably until you start collecting badges. There is no hit rating to be had on it, but there are those yellow sockets to take advantage of and gem for it a bit. (I haven’t mentioned it before, but for a BM hunter, you want to get to 142 HR to hit the cap.) This chest drops off of Kael’thas himself.

[Sunrage Treads]

Another nice epic drop from Kael’thas. Agility, stamina, a socket, AP and a little more armor ignore. These will last you at least until you get your [Edgewalker Longboots] off of Moroes.

A Note on Crafting Before I Go

You can circumvent a lot of the pain of gear hunting by taking up a tradeskill to make your armor and/or weapons. Like Druids, Hunters can benefit GREATLY from Leatherworking. There are actually three different sets they can make that are useful. Fel Skin, Felstalker, and Netherscale Armor. With all those choices, and the very raid useful [Drums of Battle], Leatherworking may be a VERY good investment for a hunter.

Well, there you have it. Obviously, this is not intended to be the ultimate gear list, but simply a cheat sheet to get you started. That should get you well on your way to heroics and Karazhan, and before long maybe you’ll be putting an arrow in Lady Vashj’s eye. Thanks for reading!

We’ve all been there before. Even the tightest guilds, filled with RL friends and mature players get bitten by the guild drama bug occasionally. In a game that necessitates so many people working together, it’s bound to happen. It’s human nature. It can also come in a variety of forms, so I thought we’d look at a few that crop up regularly.

Casuals vs. Raiders

The Problem

This is the type that bites my guild in its collective arse most often. My guild is casual at its core, though we do have a contingent of people that like to raid and progress. I don’t think we have enough players that fit the raider mold to make us a “casual raiding” guild, so occasionally the two camps have to battle it out a little.

You see, casual players do LIKE to raid, at least many of them do, but they aren’t necessarily devoted to it. They don’t spend their days poring over spreadsheets, reading boss strategies or studying gear. They want to see the content, they just aren’t really gung ho about it. The way that WoW is presently constituted, you need a certain level of devotion to progress in the raiding environment. (Keep in mind that when I talk about raiding, I’m talking about 25 man content. To me, Kara is more an extension of five man content than anything else.)

The true raiders in the guild, however, can get frustrated if people aren’t as prepared for a raid as they should be. If they don’t bring basic consumables, or if they don’t show up on time.

What this does is causes occasional rifts, where our boards go a little sour as vocal members of both camps argue over what being a member of our guild really means. It can get heated, and it causes problems and hurt feelings occasionally.

The Remedy

So how do you combat this? By being very open, and very frank about what you expect from the guild. There has to be some compromise about the stance of the guild on this issue. Ultimately, you have to decide as a guild which direction you want to take. Take raiding more seriously, or stick with the easy stuff, like Kara?

Another thing that helps my guild is the alliance we are in. We have banded with other casual guilds to run 25 man content, and it’s been pretty successful. There is a defined path for the raiders to take, and the more casual guild members can go about their business.

Phat Lewtz Syndrome

The Problem

Ahh yes, loot drama. This is part and parcel of WoW and any other MMORPG, for the most part. Everybody wants new shinies to look at, and it can cause real problems.

“Why should he get Loot X for his alt, when I still haven’t gotten anything for my main!”

“Why is it he gets 2 pieces of loot, and I get none?”

“I’ve done this dungeon 1.5 thousand times, he’s only done it twice, I should automatically get that drop!”

I’m sure we’ve all seen these situations. I don’t think I need to spell this one out any more, everybody wants loot, and people often want the same drop.

The Remedy

So how do you fix it? Again, this comes down to being very frank, and very up front. You should have very clear loot rules that are understood by everyone. If you have to go over them at the start of every run, so be it. Just make sure that everyone is aware of how things work. You might have rules that state loot goes to “main specs” before “off specs.” One purple per run, something to that effect. If you really have to, look into a more defined loot system, like Suicide Kings or DKP.  IMO, the actual system doesn’t matter so much as a strict adherence to it, and an understanding by EVERYONE on how it works.

The Invasion of General Apathy

The Problem

It seems there are quite a few cases of this going around at the present time. We’re in a bit of a WoW downturn, as people have grown tired of what 2.4 had to offer, and now we wait patiently (or not so patiently) for Wrath. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. Sometimes large groups of people just get a little burned out all at once.

The Remedy

How do you fix it? Well, you can read a detailed post I wrote about it here, but I can try to sum up a few quick thoughts as well. You can focus more on alts, maybe polish off a tradeskill. Perhaps you need to start scheduling five man runs like you do raids. It’ll take more work to keep things going during an apathetic phase, but as long as you still have some dedicated players you can weather the storm.

The Bad Apple

The Problem

So you get a new guildy. He gets through the normal process to be added to your guild, whatever that may be, and things go swimmingly for a week or so. Then the problems start to surface. Maybe you got the guy that’s always looking for handouts from his guild, or always looking for help with literally everything. Perhaps you got yourselves a loot ninja in disguise (luckily, those never seem to last long – once you know someone is a loot ninja, they get escorted out of the bar fairly quickly). Heck, maybe you found the guy that, once he gets comfortable, likes to spurt racial or sexual epithets in chat. If nothing else, maybe he just turns out to be a real jerk.

Whatever it is, you recruited the wrong guy. The problem with the bad apple is that if you don’t take care of it quickly, the Bad Apple can cause widespread discontent. The saying “one bad apple can spoil the bunch” isn’t far from the truth. A Bad Apple allowed to spread his disease can turn off other members in the process. They also have a knack for making your whole guild look bad.

The Remedy

If you get a Bad Apple, don’t expect them to change.  The chances are pretty good that if someone shows bad behavior repeatedly, they aren’t suddenly going to turn over a new leaf.  Heck, in real life people seldom change at the urging of others – why would we expect them to do it in a game?  Therefore, if you identify a Bad Apple, kick them to the curb.  Don’t worry about being so nice, your guild is paying for the Bad Apple’s indiscretions.  /gkick them and don’t look back.

You might also want to look at HOW this guy slipped through.  Do you interview prospective guild members?  If you don’t, why not?  Do they get a trial run?  Maybe it’s time you tightened the recruiting reigns a bit.  This is one area where my guild does an excellent job.  We don’t just take anyone, we have a whole interview process that can be very in depth.  We have to KNOW you will fit in before any guild invites come your way.  We pride ourselves on being a mature, friendly guild.  One of the ways we keep it that way is through strict recruitment policies.

Conclusion

I wrote this post largely due to the third entry, General Apathy.  The sort of downturn that WoW is presently in has destroyed many a strong guild.  If you are going to keep things going until Wrath, you’re really going to have to be on your guild ball.  That means identifying other instances of guild drama and taking care of them expeditiously.  My guild weathered the storm before BC was released, and I am 100% positive that we will weather this one as well.  It takes some work, but it can be done.  Thanks for reading!

Ya see, even casuals can save up 5k gold! Thank you Shattered Sun! Oh, and just so you know, I am NOT a female Draenei. That’s my Dwarf Hunter who had recently had a mishap with the Toshley’s Station transport!

Have no fear, this will not be a teary eyed goodbye to WoW or to the blog. I still cannot foresee a situation where I cancel my account or stop writing. I have a sizable list of topics I’d still like to cover, and I get new ideas to add to it every day.

This is about the WoW apathy I see around me. The release of Age of Conan took a minor toll on my guild, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I don’t think we flat out lost anyone permanently, but some key members have been spending most of their time in AoC.

Now, I could rail and complain about this, but I can’t blame them. Many of them have all the 2.4 badge gear they want, have run every instance in the game 20 times over, and can only really progress through raiding. The funny thing is, with the 2.4 badge gear, we really have to start hitting BT to start progressing some of them. Oh well, I hope they’re having fun over there, I really do.

The problem is most of them were key members of the guild. People who were on often, and available to run instances and such. Our best geared tank is one of them, as a matter of fact. For those of us who remain, it has made things a bit more difficult as far as regular five mans, heroics and Kara, which for a long time have been our bread and butter. More than one run has had to be cancelled recently due to lack of interest.

This is particularly difficult for me, as I already have a hard time getting into guild groups due to the times that I play.

So, has your guild lost some people to AoC? Have you had a more difficult time of late because of it? I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve come up with a few ways to fight through it.

Get Raid Organized for 5 Man Content

If you’re in the situation I am in, it might be a good idea to start treating five man runs like raids. What do I mean by that? Plan ahead. Set a date and time, and get some signups going. It might be the most effective way to still get five mans off the ground. Sure, it was easy to make runs on the fly a little while back, but now you might have to really work at it. You might as well use your raiding tools to do it. Don’t be afraid to make a post on the guild boards to organize a regular Shadow Labyrinth run! This might also help you find the people in the guild that are like you, still devoted to WoW and looking to get things done.

Help Out the Lowbies

I know who you are. In the past you ignored the calls for help in guild. When someone needed a hand to take down VanCleef, you were busy in Shattered Halls. When your guildy was trying to clear his quest logs of group quests in Loch Modan, you were tied up in SSC. Well, now is the time to change your feathers. Be that guy. The guy that drops everything to help out people with “old” and “newbie” stuff. The guy who ports and flies to the very ends of Azeroth to help those in need. Remember, a lowbie you help today will be a 70 down the road to maybe fill YOUR Kara run.

Get Back to that Alt

You know, that beloved Shadow Priest or whatver that has been on the back burner for a long time. The one you swore you’d get to 70 before Wrath. Now is the time to really get it in gear. (To make things easier, Jame has now updated parts 1 and 2 of his Alliance leveling guides to reflect the changes in 2.3. Go take a look. I can’t tell you how great his guides are. Trust me, give it a look.) I’ve personally been sitting on a host of characters in their 40s, and I now have to pick who to focus on and run with it. I’d certainly rather level an alt than go PUG crazy! It’s also an opportunity to work on a new tradeskill, or perhaps just get a devoted mat farmer for your main with a Mining/Herb/Skinning mix of skills.

Finally Farm That 5k Gold

Yes, I haven’t been talking about it, but even your good old PTD is close to getting an epic flyer. With the Sunwell dailies, it’s actually been quite painless. I mean, there is still a whole “farming” aspect to it that I don’t like much, but I’m sitting at around 4400g right now, and I’ve been working at it for about a month. A long time, I know, but that’s what Part Time is all about.

Quick tip for casual dailies: just focus on the ones that are ON Quel’Danas. Don’t bother with the ones that send you to blade’s edge, Netherstorm, etc. When time is an issue, the best bang for your buck is right on the island. You can grind out all the ones there in about 40 minutes, maybe less. Sure, you don’t net any of the Shattered Sun Supplies for possible badges, but it’s been a long time since I saw one out of a pack anyhow. So I no longer care.

PvP

While it helps to have premades for battlegrounds, it’s not entirely necessary. This is something that’s not reliant on your guild to participate. You can be the only one logged on and still get into a BG. Heck, you might even find you like it. The great part about this option is that if you can stick with it, you can get yourself some pretty nice gear. Welfare epics they may be, but I never saw a purple I didn’t like. Maybe you’ll find your a whiz at PvP and end up decked out in Season 4 gear some time down the road. It could happen!

There are my five meager suggestions to help you pass the time. I know it might be a little painful now for those of us that are ignoring AoC, but I have a strong feeling most of those people will be back. This is just a gut feeling, but I don’t see AoC having real staying power. As Wrath approaches, I’m sure the guild will build itself back up to full strength – it’s only a matter of time. Thanks for reading!