I think I'll post a little more on auctions...
And another stalker story...
Stalker number 5...
So at the store, we had the season of the spoonman. Why was he called the spoonman? Cuz he'd walk up and down the street all day, tapping his shoulder with this metal soup spoon...
I asked him why, once. And only once. He tried to explain how his shoulders were out of balance, and he needed the spoon to keep them level...
So anyway... one day he came in while we were putting up groceries... I was stocking cigarettes into the display, so my back was to the store... I was told that his expression while looking at my back side was rather.. disturbing... now at this point, he hadn't been around long, and didn't know the store staff well... and please god let that be the reason...
Of course, he tried to start a conversation...
"You're mighty tall for a lady!"
Our relationship after this was rather strained... to say the least...
And I took insane amounts of grief from my coworkers for months afterwards...
So Maj was trying to down grom yesterday... I got into a group with a 66 pally tank, a 70 priest, and two 66 rogues. Kinda light for grom, eh? Well... the pally tank was wielding a 2h level 55 spear with some kinda fire damage proc. And the pally and priest were both the same player on two computers. Did I mention that player was a damn fool? Oh yeah... and what do you have to do everytime you decide to try an outdoor boss on a pvp server? That's right, gank every ally you come across while waiting for the fight to start...
/sigh
On auctions.... there's actually a mathmatical model that predicts the price you will receive in an auction... for the most part... it's gonna be the second highest valuation in the crowd, assuming common knowledge, open bidding and rational players.
What does that mean? Well... if we both want that staff of jordon, and you won't pay more than 300, while I'll pay up to 500... I'll get it for 300 and a copper. However, people ain't rational. You get caught up in a bid frenzy, and your emotional investment in the purchase goes up... as well, if your surrounded by people bidding on an item, their interest will tend to increase the value you place on the item.. after all, if they want it so bad, it has to be more valuable than you thought, right?
Now, the auction house is a great thing. It keeps commodities flowing for teh hungry and industrious wow craftsman. It all keeps us equiped in the latest l33t gear till we hit the level cap and have to start earning our way...
But like all markets, it is subject to asshattery. People can buy out all the *whatever* and put it back at a nasty markup, making up in a few sales the cost of the endevour. Buying an item that is priced too low, and then selling it for the going price is one thing. Trying to corner the market is simply anti-social...
It is at times like this that general trade becomes useful. If all those primal fires are listed at 30bo... just ask around the trade channel... or
Here are the rules for general trade...
Name a damn price. It simply isn't worth a 10 min haggling session to sell you an item for less money than I could get on the AH. Think about it. If someone has primal fires for 30g on the AH... i could put mine up for 28 and prob sell em. Why on earth would I sell them to *you* for less, and have to spend precious time making the sale? If you simply say, WTB primal fire, 25g, need 4... you'll get your responses, and people prob won't even check the AH first. If your spamming trade for an item, without setting a price, I, and every other reasonable person, will check the AH first to see how the market is. Again, it helps to know the market. Primal fires usually sell for 20g on my server. If you spam trade looking for them at that price... well, if I had one that I was willing to sell for 20g, and I knew I could get that at anytime at the AH... I would have already sold it...
Be generous. General trade is a public channel. WoW is a community. Doan screw people over, or low ball. Save that crap for the anonymity of a bank alt.
It's ok to be innocent. It isn't ok to be stupid. if you don't know a portal requires a 20s mat, you really have no business asking for one. If you don't know what is required for a service or item... ask. Be polite. People (like me) will accept gratitute in lieu of gold quite often. The chance that doing someone a favor will seriously affect my bank account is remote. But being treated like a goddamn water/portal vending machine will set me off! A kind or grateful word will get you a lot farther than you think.
Now... on general trade auctions...
I hate them. The guy usually wastes everyone's time, then just puts it up on the AH for an insane bo anyway. Still, I've bought some nice crap that way. Sometimes people get desperate, and tired of the AH deposit fees. Got my bringer of death for 75g :) and my crystal forged axe for 40.
So... if ya really wanna sell an item in general chat...
"Want to sell x for y or best decent offer..."
This is a modification of a dutch auction. In a regular auction, you keep raising the price till only one bidder is left. In a dutch auction, you keep lowering the price until you get a buyer. There are advantages and disadvantages to the dutch auction... in theory, both methods should have the same result... but they don't...
I prefer dutch auctions, because they take less time, and if you aren't insane about the price you set, you'll get good responses. Remember... setting a price too high will not only discourage lower bids, it will convince people that you aren't worth talking to at all.
Anyway, Maj made 69, and I'm gonna try to push to 70 today. My house guest has been quiet... (aside from a really bad patch last night when he started attacking my furniture... and his drinking a gallon of orange juice and almost that much grape juice...)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Cats, dogs... and barracuda
So I was playin Mabd yesterday... takin a break from my cares, a rough week at work, and my house guest.
When I get an in-game tell from a level 1 BE warlock. Named Teej.
It wasn't pretty. I'm being stalked again. Worst is her conviction that *I'm* one of her "devoted followers."
"If you're not, why can't you stop thinking about me?"
"Cuz you threatened my life. And the roaches. But mostly that life threat me thing. Besides, you're on MY SERVER now... who's following whom?"
Tomorrow, I'll try to explain why TJ doesn't even get into the top 5 list of my most annoying stalkers.
Sneak peek.
Number 4. While working at the c-store, there was a neighborhood family that was just screwed up. The mother weighed about 80lbs, and when she wasn't shoplifting in my store, she was begging outside. She was 50-80 years old. Her son got outta prison... still on crack. Came into the store, limping painfully... from what my police friends told me was from a vicious series of beatings and rapes by fellow inmates.... anyway... he came into the store, looked me up and down, came in close, and said in a soft voice... "I wanna git wid you, big boy..."
/ewww
Anyway, I thought I'd spend today bitching about my favorite subject... absolutely idiotic WoW players...
The anglo-american culture has some very interesting divergences from the rest of world practices... several of these can be pointed to as an element in the relative success of the western business model. One that gets overlooked a lot, but is still incredibly important...
We are culturally inclined not to haggle.
Now, this is kinda key to the sucess of a lot of western marketing practices. First, it saves insane amounts of time. Supermarkets are impossible if you have to argue over every price. Modern accounting depends on precise details of sales and expenditures... an "average" amount of money you make per sale will kill you in business. As well, it allows people with minimal personal skills to sell things for you. All they need is the basic math required to run a register.
In some fields, this model breaks down. Mostly high ticket items. Cars, houses.... some restaurants follow the health care model, not giving you an idea of cost until after the meal/operation... One reason high end restaurants, like hospitals, are outta control price wise.
I spent two months in China. I learned how to haggle. However, another training ground has opened up in America. WoW general trade.
Now let me break for a little guild chat gem. One of my guildies was compaining about the greed of enchanters in demanding mats plus a tip. "It just takes a click of a button.. not even a cooldown..."
Look people. If you depend on strangers doing you favors for free... you will live a brief, brutal, and unsatisfactory life. "Free" is NOT the beginning position to haggle from when you want someone to volunteer a service.
Arms&Fury got his BS up to 350, got the mats for his axe, made the axe. There he was, with the epic axe... and no gold and no savagery enchant on it. So Majeure, outta the goodness of her blackend blood elf heart, spots him the tons of large prism shards and arcane dust for the enchant. AND gives him 30g for the tip.
A&F starts spamming trade for the enchant, promising a "LARGE TIP." (after the first 5 tells in general trade over 60 seconds, he started getting desperate.)
He gets the enchant, then brags to me... "I only had to tip 10 gold!"
/sigh
Some clues for the clueless... before you advertise "LF healer and tank for (whatever instance) and GTG!".... really... think again.
And don't just say in general... "Need port to shat!" WITHOUT offering a price. I assure you, the vast bulk of mages will simply ignore you. Even if its just offering the portal rune, you'll get a better response. I can occasionally be generous enough to port people who are considerate enough to make sure it doesn't actually cost me anything. But I'm not gonna pay 20s for the honor of helping a noob.
What brought this on? Some fool was spamming trade chat looking for a crystal pulse shield.
Now I have one, sitting on my shammy, waiting on the proper level. My shammy ain't hitting 70 anytime soon... however, the refusal to even begin to offer a price made me reluctant to respond. However... I gotta deal.
"I know I'm gonna regret this... but how much are you offering?"
"For what?"
"The crystal pulse shield you were spamming trade for..."
"Hey, WTB means want to buy... I'm not selling it, I want to buy one..."
/break
K... at this point I realize that I'm dealing with a grade "A" idiot. Did I mention that hesa pally? Can you imagine this guy healing for you? The only question left... is he an idiot with enough money to make it worth dealing with him? Experience tends to teach... no...
/return
"Yes... how much were you willing to pay for the crystal pulse shield?"
"I dunno. Maybe 50g or more. Why, do you have one to sell?"
This is where the trade breaks down. I'm not really interested in selling the shield unless I can make enough gold to more than make up for the hassle of haunting the AH to replace it. 50g is low end for AH on this item... for the most part... with the number of pally and resto shammies being leveled as healing alts. And if you have to spam trade chat... the price goes up a bit. As well.. what the hell is he thinking? Why on earth would I still be talking to him if I, or someone I know, *didn't* have one to sell?
Just knowing the idiot didn't even set a firm price... who the hell says "xg or more?" indicates to me that I'd have a lot more fun spending the next few minutes killing allies in AB than bartering with the guy.
If you are the person seeking the sale... If you're the one asking for the item... you have to be firm, and have to be aggressive. If someone is holding onto the item, instead of putting it on the AH.. it indicates a personal opinion that the item is worth more than the AH would currently bring. It is your job to at least ask around for a good price before trying to lure one outta hiding, as it were. And you have to be generous. If ya wanna be passive... spam trade with the following..
"Was wondering, how much should I expect to pay for a crystal pulse shield?"
This does a coupla things... first, it gets input from multiple sources... if they respond in general trade, then you have established a price basis.. which is... a coupla people say.. 50g, 60g...
Now by this point, someone might have messaged you, declaring that *they* have one, which they will sell for something near the price basis or higher. (It usually wont be lower...)
If not...
"Well... that seems low... does anyone have one to sell for Xg?"
With Xg being something a bit higher than the high end of the basis (which didn't get you a tell...) but not outta the ball park. Say... 70g...
See what were doin? We're haggling, without actually haggling. The trick is to set a price before you actually start talking. Any responses should be close to the new price you set, fishing to see if you actually would go higher. A tip, for the most point, if you've got a response to a solid offer for an item... they'll sell it for the price you set. Plead poverty... one particularly loathesome trick...
"Well, I dont have any more gold till I can grind some more... but would you like 4 stacks of knothide leather scraps on top of the 70gold? I haven't been able to sell them at auction..."
If you offer trade goods instead of money... it will probably convince them that you really don't have anymore to spend. You always risk losing the sale, but that's half the fun. And at this point, they want to sell you the item. The longer the conversation, the greater the psychic investment.
Just to put the seal on it... when you pay for it... over pay... say 71g 57s... saying "I'm really sorry, this is all I have on me..."
They'll feel great, convinced they took your last copper. People are sick this way...
And I know sick people. Oh yes I do...
Tomorrow! Depravity galore!
When I get an in-game tell from a level 1 BE warlock. Named Teej.
It wasn't pretty. I'm being stalked again. Worst is her conviction that *I'm* one of her "devoted followers."
"If you're not, why can't you stop thinking about me?"
"Cuz you threatened my life. And the roaches. But mostly that life threat me thing. Besides, you're on MY SERVER now... who's following whom?"
Tomorrow, I'll try to explain why TJ doesn't even get into the top 5 list of my most annoying stalkers.
Sneak peek.
Number 4. While working at the c-store, there was a neighborhood family that was just screwed up. The mother weighed about 80lbs, and when she wasn't shoplifting in my store, she was begging outside. She was 50-80 years old. Her son got outta prison... still on crack. Came into the store, limping painfully... from what my police friends told me was from a vicious series of beatings and rapes by fellow inmates.... anyway... he came into the store, looked me up and down, came in close, and said in a soft voice... "I wanna git wid you, big boy..."
/ewww
Anyway, I thought I'd spend today bitching about my favorite subject... absolutely idiotic WoW players...
The anglo-american culture has some very interesting divergences from the rest of world practices... several of these can be pointed to as an element in the relative success of the western business model. One that gets overlooked a lot, but is still incredibly important...
We are culturally inclined not to haggle.
Now, this is kinda key to the sucess of a lot of western marketing practices. First, it saves insane amounts of time. Supermarkets are impossible if you have to argue over every price. Modern accounting depends on precise details of sales and expenditures... an "average" amount of money you make per sale will kill you in business. As well, it allows people with minimal personal skills to sell things for you. All they need is the basic math required to run a register.
In some fields, this model breaks down. Mostly high ticket items. Cars, houses.... some restaurants follow the health care model, not giving you an idea of cost until after the meal/operation... One reason high end restaurants, like hospitals, are outta control price wise.
I spent two months in China. I learned how to haggle. However, another training ground has opened up in America. WoW general trade.
Now let me break for a little guild chat gem. One of my guildies was compaining about the greed of enchanters in demanding mats plus a tip. "It just takes a click of a button.. not even a cooldown..."
Look people. If you depend on strangers doing you favors for free... you will live a brief, brutal, and unsatisfactory life. "Free" is NOT the beginning position to haggle from when you want someone to volunteer a service.
Arms&Fury got his BS up to 350, got the mats for his axe, made the axe. There he was, with the epic axe... and no gold and no savagery enchant on it. So Majeure, outta the goodness of her blackend blood elf heart, spots him the tons of large prism shards and arcane dust for the enchant. AND gives him 30g for the tip.
A&F starts spamming trade for the enchant, promising a "LARGE TIP." (after the first 5 tells in general trade over 60 seconds, he started getting desperate.)
He gets the enchant, then brags to me... "I only had to tip 10 gold!"
/sigh
Some clues for the clueless... before you advertise "LF healer and tank for (whatever instance) and GTG!".... really... think again.
And don't just say in general... "Need port to shat!" WITHOUT offering a price. I assure you, the vast bulk of mages will simply ignore you. Even if its just offering the portal rune, you'll get a better response. I can occasionally be generous enough to port people who are considerate enough to make sure it doesn't actually cost me anything. But I'm not gonna pay 20s for the honor of helping a noob.
What brought this on? Some fool was spamming trade chat looking for a crystal pulse shield.
Now I have one, sitting on my shammy, waiting on the proper level. My shammy ain't hitting 70 anytime soon... however, the refusal to even begin to offer a price made me reluctant to respond. However... I gotta deal.
"I know I'm gonna regret this... but how much are you offering?"
"For what?"
"The crystal pulse shield you were spamming trade for..."
"Hey, WTB means want to buy... I'm not selling it, I want to buy one..."
/break
K... at this point I realize that I'm dealing with a grade "A" idiot. Did I mention that hesa pally? Can you imagine this guy healing for you? The only question left... is he an idiot with enough money to make it worth dealing with him? Experience tends to teach... no...
/return
"Yes... how much were you willing to pay for the crystal pulse shield?"
"I dunno. Maybe 50g or more. Why, do you have one to sell?"
This is where the trade breaks down. I'm not really interested in selling the shield unless I can make enough gold to more than make up for the hassle of haunting the AH to replace it. 50g is low end for AH on this item... for the most part... with the number of pally and resto shammies being leveled as healing alts. And if you have to spam trade chat... the price goes up a bit. As well.. what the hell is he thinking? Why on earth would I still be talking to him if I, or someone I know, *didn't* have one to sell?
Just knowing the idiot didn't even set a firm price... who the hell says "xg or more?" indicates to me that I'd have a lot more fun spending the next few minutes killing allies in AB than bartering with the guy.
If you are the person seeking the sale... If you're the one asking for the item... you have to be firm, and have to be aggressive. If someone is holding onto the item, instead of putting it on the AH.. it indicates a personal opinion that the item is worth more than the AH would currently bring. It is your job to at least ask around for a good price before trying to lure one outta hiding, as it were. And you have to be generous. If ya wanna be passive... spam trade with the following..
"Was wondering, how much should I expect to pay for a crystal pulse shield?"
This does a coupla things... first, it gets input from multiple sources... if they respond in general trade, then you have established a price basis.. which is... a coupla people say.. 50g, 60g...
Now by this point, someone might have messaged you, declaring that *they* have one, which they will sell for something near the price basis or higher. (It usually wont be lower...)
If not...
"Well... that seems low... does anyone have one to sell for Xg?"
With Xg being something a bit higher than the high end of the basis (which didn't get you a tell...) but not outta the ball park. Say... 70g...
See what were doin? We're haggling, without actually haggling. The trick is to set a price before you actually start talking. Any responses should be close to the new price you set, fishing to see if you actually would go higher. A tip, for the most point, if you've got a response to a solid offer for an item... they'll sell it for the price you set. Plead poverty... one particularly loathesome trick...
"Well, I dont have any more gold till I can grind some more... but would you like 4 stacks of knothide leather scraps on top of the 70gold? I haven't been able to sell them at auction..."
If you offer trade goods instead of money... it will probably convince them that you really don't have anymore to spend. You always risk losing the sale, but that's half the fun. And at this point, they want to sell you the item. The longer the conversation, the greater the psychic investment.
Just to put the seal on it... when you pay for it... over pay... say 71g 57s... saying "I'm really sorry, this is all I have on me..."
They'll feel great, convinced they took your last copper. People are sick this way...
And I know sick people. Oh yes I do...
Tomorrow! Depravity galore!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The flames burn into the night...
The horrific vengenge of the evil one continues....
Not satisfied with merely threatening my life, and the physical integrity of my precious hide, her curse continues its work. My crazy friend came over last night, and in the course of 3 hours, drank a half gallon of premium orange juice.
My groceries arrived last night... and were missing all the soft drinks. No diet coke for me this weekend... as well, no beer in the shipment! Wouldn't death be easier, you demon-kissing bug-molesting pawn of darkness?
THEN I had to go get my VA license... only to find out that they no longer consider out of state licenses as proof of legal residence in the U.S.
And most depraved... the turn to cold wet weather has been driving a horrific invasion of /ick! ROACHES into my apartment. They'll die out soon enough, but this is a truly LOW BLOW!
I gotta come up with something new. OTOH, maybe this'll teach me not to tangle with someone that wears socks stripped from the corpse of the wicked witch of the east....
To WoW news... ran a bit of AB last night... and am slowly coming to love the MM build. Crippled people quite easily with the 41 range silence.. and I'm doin better against BM builds by kiting them outta their 35 range while staying within my 41 range... still havent met another boomkin to practice on tho...
Not satisfied with merely threatening my life, and the physical integrity of my precious hide, her curse continues its work. My crazy friend came over last night, and in the course of 3 hours, drank a half gallon of premium orange juice.
My groceries arrived last night... and were missing all the soft drinks. No diet coke for me this weekend... as well, no beer in the shipment! Wouldn't death be easier, you demon-kissing bug-molesting pawn of darkness?
THEN I had to go get my VA license... only to find out that they no longer consider out of state licenses as proof of legal residence in the U.S.
And most depraved... the turn to cold wet weather has been driving a horrific invasion of /ick! ROACHES into my apartment. They'll die out soon enough, but this is a truly LOW BLOW!
I gotta come up with something new. OTOH, maybe this'll teach me not to tangle with someone that wears socks stripped from the corpse of the wicked witch of the east....
To WoW news... ran a bit of AB last night... and am slowly coming to love the MM build. Crippled people quite easily with the 41 range silence.. and I'm doin better against BM builds by kiting them outta their 35 range while staying within my 41 range... still havent met another boomkin to practice on tho...
Friday, November 9, 2007
Need a paladin, badly!
Curse the irrational one!
I yield. I can't beat her. I thought I could, that someone who swooned at a concert by a Michael Jackson cover band was nothing to fear.
Karma? What karma? Why would there be karmic reprecussions from tormenting a warlock?
Jeez, I learned my lesson. She laid a curse on me. I doan know how, didn't even see the damn casting bar pop up over her. But I can't get it dispelled by any of the mages I know... must be a GREATER CURSE! My only hope is a blessing of protection... so I'm looking for a paladin...
Here's the deal. I know a lotta screwed up people. One of them is the most unlucky human beings on earth. First, he's mental. As in, on meds mental. As in, you doan wanna see him when he's off his meds, and this isn't a joke. And, like many people in that position... he doesn't take em regularly cuz they make him sick. He's been getting paranoid lately... understandable, considering his position...
Second... he has unfortunate looks. He's 32, bald, pudgy, and short. And asian, with glasses. AND he has a bad stutter.
Third... he has hepatitis. HE INHERITED IT. Can you imagine a worse roll of the genetic dice?
Fourth... he's unemployed and living with his mother. And his mother is at an assisted living for the elderly place. Hence the curent situation... too many people at the rest home are beginning to take exception to his presence. And he's not gonna be able to pretend to be "just visiting" his mother much longer...
You see the setup? He's gonna crash at my place this weekend. Damn, three day weekend too, I was looking forward to the peace and quiet.
He's a good person, smart, and not unemployable. He's actually a decent copy editor, and thats how hes been making money lately. He should be able to get a job pretty soon. Prob is, it won't pay well, and NoVa/DC is expensive. But I'm getting the sense that he's near the end of his rope. I want to help, but I have the sense of doom, that this will not end well...
Bah. Thanks a lot, evil one. Pally? Anyone? I got fish!
Anyway, Z... you gotta put out man... I know I can beat frost mages... but I need a bit more detail... how much health does the elemental have at 70? Is it a good idea to toast him as soon as possible?
You neglect the crucial advantage of the arcane/fire mage... range of 41! Frosties need to get within range of the nova and CoC to get best use of their damage. A decent fire mage should be able to get a good hit or two on you before you get near range. Again, you have a sick advantage, but it's not insurmountable...
And here's a thought... Maj has been using ice lance a lot lately... the damage she does with it has about a 33% chance of breaking the nova, so she gets a few hits off before the mob breaks... ice build does so much damage, I can't see the nova lasting beyond the first hit...
Whats better, hopping backwards while spamming ice lance on a frozen target for about 800, or that one 2.5k hit? BTW... Melvin doesn't use ice lance... except to pull.
Shifty... more bad news... was talkin to my boomkin expert. Thersa talent that gives 70% resist to pushback on wrath.
Ouchies. Next time I fight one, I'll pop aspect of wild, and see how the 70 resist helps...
Did four arena games last night... and Arms&Fury had a coupla executes dodged (ending with the other warrior getting his execute off...) while I kept the healer controlled. A&F was soooo mad...
Ended up 2-2, but learned some good lessons. Hope to get some more experience this weekend.
I yield. I can't beat her. I thought I could, that someone who swooned at a concert by a Michael Jackson cover band was nothing to fear.
Karma? What karma? Why would there be karmic reprecussions from tormenting a warlock?
Jeez, I learned my lesson. She laid a curse on me. I doan know how, didn't even see the damn casting bar pop up over her. But I can't get it dispelled by any of the mages I know... must be a GREATER CURSE! My only hope is a blessing of protection... so I'm looking for a paladin...
Here's the deal. I know a lotta screwed up people. One of them is the most unlucky human beings on earth. First, he's mental. As in, on meds mental. As in, you doan wanna see him when he's off his meds, and this isn't a joke. And, like many people in that position... he doesn't take em regularly cuz they make him sick. He's been getting paranoid lately... understandable, considering his position...
Second... he has unfortunate looks. He's 32, bald, pudgy, and short. And asian, with glasses. AND he has a bad stutter.
Third... he has hepatitis. HE INHERITED IT. Can you imagine a worse roll of the genetic dice?
Fourth... he's unemployed and living with his mother. And his mother is at an assisted living for the elderly place. Hence the curent situation... too many people at the rest home are beginning to take exception to his presence. And he's not gonna be able to pretend to be "just visiting" his mother much longer...
You see the setup? He's gonna crash at my place this weekend. Damn, three day weekend too, I was looking forward to the peace and quiet.
He's a good person, smart, and not unemployable. He's actually a decent copy editor, and thats how hes been making money lately. He should be able to get a job pretty soon. Prob is, it won't pay well, and NoVa/DC is expensive. But I'm getting the sense that he's near the end of his rope. I want to help, but I have the sense of doom, that this will not end well...
Bah. Thanks a lot, evil one. Pally? Anyone? I got fish!
Anyway, Z... you gotta put out man... I know I can beat frost mages... but I need a bit more detail... how much health does the elemental have at 70? Is it a good idea to toast him as soon as possible?
You neglect the crucial advantage of the arcane/fire mage... range of 41! Frosties need to get within range of the nova and CoC to get best use of their damage. A decent fire mage should be able to get a good hit or two on you before you get near range. Again, you have a sick advantage, but it's not insurmountable...
And here's a thought... Maj has been using ice lance a lot lately... the damage she does with it has about a 33% chance of breaking the nova, so she gets a few hits off before the mob breaks... ice build does so much damage, I can't see the nova lasting beyond the first hit...
Whats better, hopping backwards while spamming ice lance on a frozen target for about 800, or that one 2.5k hit? BTW... Melvin doesn't use ice lance... except to pull.
Shifty... more bad news... was talkin to my boomkin expert. Thersa talent that gives 70% resist to pushback on wrath.
Ouchies. Next time I fight one, I'll pop aspect of wild, and see how the 70 resist helps...
Did four arena games last night... and Arms&Fury had a coupla executes dodged (ending with the other warrior getting his execute off...) while I kept the healer controlled. A&F was soooo mad...
Ended up 2-2, but learned some good lessons. Hope to get some more experience this weekend.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The mirror's horror...
I once helped drive a girl insane.
It was unintentional.
And when I mean insane, I doan mean normal levels of female craziness.
I mean, her mother had to fly to china to get her out, because she started screaming uncontrollably whenever she was alone with nothing but chinese people. Er... I doan think it was ALL me...
I say strange things, and am often misunderstood. How misunderstood, I did not realize until I was talking with Arms&Fury last night.
We were discussing combat against frost mages... One battle, a while back, it came down to a ice mage, 50% (go Mabd go!) and A&F at relatively whole health. Mabd and frosty's partner were down. The mage ice blocks, leaving A&F whacking on a cube with his axe while the elemental blasted him. A&F then ran around a pillar to bandage... and the elemental followed and interrupted. Then the mage popped out, and ended up killing A&F with 3% health remaining.
So I tells A&F, I tells him, "Why not just kill the damn elemental while you wait? You'll get plenty of loverly rage, and might off the damn thing. It's not like there's anything else you can do while waiting..."
See... that's what I meant to say. What I probably said... "Why dintcha kill the elemental? Not like you can get the bandage off with it active.." You know, same overall meaning, but with a phrasing vulnerable to misinterpretation...
I came to find out, last night, this (in my mind) excellent advice got translated through A&F's ears as... "Attack the elemental first!" Of course, not being Melvin, he's only tried this theory out a coupla times... with deep reservations...
K, Shifttusk has been helping out with the pvp theory craft. It's taking me a while to get the MM thing down... I used to run deep survival with my NE hunter back in the day, but I find I really need to retrain my combat reflexes...
And Zman (isn't that soo much cooler than the infinitly over used xman?) has been givin the advice on frost... hopefully how to kill the bastards...
Shifty, love the recent pvp posts. One problem. There are three types of spells. Instant, casting time, and channeled. What you refer to as channeled spells are actually spells with casting time, and subject to "pushback..." or spell interruption. Pushback is the phenomenon by which steady shot goes from a 1.5sec casting time to a 15sec casting time while a BM pet pounds on you.
A casting time spell only takes effect (and the mana cost paid) after the spell is cast. A channeled spell is much more rare. The most common one to see in arena is arcane missiles... channeled spells only have effect *while* the spell is cast. And mana is paid at spell start.
The problem with moonkin is that they have a instant buff called "barkskin" that for 15 or so seconds
1. reduces damage taken by 20%.
and
2. eliminates pushback.
Now when something with as much armor as a pally gets 20% damage reduction... hunters are screwed. Add to this the wrath (1.5 sec cast) hitting for 1.1k damage.... you aint gonna outlast em...
If they stupid enough to starfire (3 sec cast)... it's all good. However, one thing I finally figured out... wrath is nature damage... and we have a solution for that, doan we?
2.3 is gonna change pvp forever... the one change I'm not seeing talked about... we'll be able to see all the buffs on the enemy! So when laser turkey pops barkskin, and then arcane shot takes it off...
/point
/lol
/danceonroastturkeygrave
As for frost mages... I actually haven't been having the same problems with them that I've had with rogues... BM, they were all too easy to kill. Smack em once or twice, get em to waste that frost nova or elemental, then BW... BW lasts 18 sec, IB only lasts 10. When they IB, both Mabd and Maj know what to do...
With MM, its a little harder... Hawk eye is vital. You NEED that 6 extra yards to start the smackdown early... however, at the end we get to have fun with...
THE COUNTING GAME! Position oneself correctly... ignore the damn pet if its out...
and count from the IB cast...
1
2
3
4 (start casting pyroblast)-Maj
5
6
7 (start with aimed shot)-Mabd
8
9
10 Welcome back to the wide wide wonderful world of pain!
Thersa pally varient on this, of course :)
If they smart, they'll try to break IB early and stop you... but they playin frost for a reason... they just too lazy to play a real mage build (sorry z, gotta get the dig in somehow).
It was unintentional.
And when I mean insane, I doan mean normal levels of female craziness.
I mean, her mother had to fly to china to get her out, because she started screaming uncontrollably whenever she was alone with nothing but chinese people. Er... I doan think it was ALL me...
I say strange things, and am often misunderstood. How misunderstood, I did not realize until I was talking with Arms&Fury last night.
We were discussing combat against frost mages... One battle, a while back, it came down to a ice mage, 50% (go Mabd go!) and A&F at relatively whole health. Mabd and frosty's partner were down. The mage ice blocks, leaving A&F whacking on a cube with his axe while the elemental blasted him. A&F then ran around a pillar to bandage... and the elemental followed and interrupted. Then the mage popped out, and ended up killing A&F with 3% health remaining.
So I tells A&F, I tells him, "Why not just kill the damn elemental while you wait? You'll get plenty of loverly rage, and might off the damn thing. It's not like there's anything else you can do while waiting..."
See... that's what I meant to say. What I probably said... "Why dintcha kill the elemental? Not like you can get the bandage off with it active.." You know, same overall meaning, but with a phrasing vulnerable to misinterpretation...
I came to find out, last night, this (in my mind) excellent advice got translated through A&F's ears as... "Attack the elemental first!" Of course, not being Melvin, he's only tried this theory out a coupla times... with deep reservations...
K, Shifttusk has been helping out with the pvp theory craft. It's taking me a while to get the MM thing down... I used to run deep survival with my NE hunter back in the day, but I find I really need to retrain my combat reflexes...
And Zman (isn't that soo much cooler than the infinitly over used xman?) has been givin the advice on frost... hopefully how to kill the bastards...
Shifty, love the recent pvp posts. One problem. There are three types of spells. Instant, casting time, and channeled. What you refer to as channeled spells are actually spells with casting time, and subject to "pushback..." or spell interruption. Pushback is the phenomenon by which steady shot goes from a 1.5sec casting time to a 15sec casting time while a BM pet pounds on you.
A casting time spell only takes effect (and the mana cost paid) after the spell is cast. A channeled spell is much more rare. The most common one to see in arena is arcane missiles... channeled spells only have effect *while* the spell is cast. And mana is paid at spell start.
The problem with moonkin is that they have a instant buff called "barkskin" that for 15 or so seconds
1. reduces damage taken by 20%.
and
2. eliminates pushback.
Now when something with as much armor as a pally gets 20% damage reduction... hunters are screwed. Add to this the wrath (1.5 sec cast) hitting for 1.1k damage.... you aint gonna outlast em...
If they stupid enough to starfire (3 sec cast)... it's all good. However, one thing I finally figured out... wrath is nature damage... and we have a solution for that, doan we?
2.3 is gonna change pvp forever... the one change I'm not seeing talked about... we'll be able to see all the buffs on the enemy! So when laser turkey pops barkskin, and then arcane shot takes it off...
/point
/lol
/danceonroastturkeygrave
As for frost mages... I actually haven't been having the same problems with them that I've had with rogues... BM, they were all too easy to kill. Smack em once or twice, get em to waste that frost nova or elemental, then BW... BW lasts 18 sec, IB only lasts 10. When they IB, both Mabd and Maj know what to do...
With MM, its a little harder... Hawk eye is vital. You NEED that 6 extra yards to start the smackdown early... however, at the end we get to have fun with...
THE COUNTING GAME! Position oneself correctly... ignore the damn pet if its out...
and count from the IB cast...
1
2
3
4 (start casting pyroblast)-Maj
5
6
7 (start with aimed shot)-Mabd
8
9
10 Welcome back to the wide wide wonderful world of pain!
Thersa pally varient on this, of course :)
If they smart, they'll try to break IB early and stop you... but they playin frost for a reason... they just too lazy to play a real mage build (sorry z, gotta get the dig in somehow).
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Second thoughts...
Mabd spent a bit of time last night dueling my new guildies and getting my ass handed to me.
I couldn't beat anyone. It was pathetic. Lost to a mace spec rogue, an ice mage, a sick sick boomkin, and a BM hunter.
Over and over.
The problem is that MM spec is more of a support role than attack. I can control more, but lose the punch of BM.
Another problem is gear. I wasn't terribly concerned with resiliance when I was BM... I needed more crit and RAP. Now... well, I need more resil and health. This should change a bit in two weeks when I get my arena season 3 upgrades :)
But still... I'm giving a bit of thought to switching back to BM.
Another sad thing... the hypothermia nerf for ice mages has been reversed :(
So... some thoughts on BM from the other side... (the other hunter was pretty much mirror image, gear wise...)
That damn pet crits for 700 on my mail. Deterrence wasn't doin crap to keep me alive.
I was whooping on him with the yellow damage attacks. Still... they didn't help much. Best I did was get him down to 15%.
I don't know why warriors aren't allowed to use taunt in pvp, and yet hunter pets can redirect aggro with intimidate and growl...
(or is this a weird auto target mechanic I do not understand?)
So... final tally
BM vs MM/Surv
Hunters... BM crushes other builds
Mages.... again... BM has edge...
Priests.... BM has edge...
Warlocks... BM has edge...
Paladins... MM pwns em...
Shammies... MM has slight edge.. til patch, I think
Druids.... Boomkin is trouble, but BM is better gainst others
Warriors... Bane of the BM... MM has few problems...
I really doan know. MM works better with others, but BM works best when it breaks down...
I couldn't beat anyone. It was pathetic. Lost to a mace spec rogue, an ice mage, a sick sick boomkin, and a BM hunter.
Over and over.
The problem is that MM spec is more of a support role than attack. I can control more, but lose the punch of BM.
Another problem is gear. I wasn't terribly concerned with resiliance when I was BM... I needed more crit and RAP. Now... well, I need more resil and health. This should change a bit in two weeks when I get my arena season 3 upgrades :)
But still... I'm giving a bit of thought to switching back to BM.
Another sad thing... the hypothermia nerf for ice mages has been reversed :(
So... some thoughts on BM from the other side... (the other hunter was pretty much mirror image, gear wise...)
That damn pet crits for 700 on my mail. Deterrence wasn't doin crap to keep me alive.
I was whooping on him with the yellow damage attacks. Still... they didn't help much. Best I did was get him down to 15%.
I don't know why warriors aren't allowed to use taunt in pvp, and yet hunter pets can redirect aggro with intimidate and growl...
(or is this a weird auto target mechanic I do not understand?)
So... final tally
BM vs MM/Surv
Hunters... BM crushes other builds
Mages.... again... BM has edge...
Priests.... BM has edge...
Warlocks... BM has edge...
Paladins... MM pwns em...
Shammies... MM has slight edge.. til patch, I think
Druids.... Boomkin is trouble, but BM is better gainst others
Warriors... Bane of the BM... MM has few problems...
I really doan know. MM works better with others, but BM works best when it breaks down...
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A thousand little pieces...
First, some shoutouts...
Shifttusk, for all the great hunter pvp advice. If only he weren't a stinking cannibal bridge lurking savage... enjoy the nerf, troll!
Out of Mana, the best thing I've found so far on arena ins and outs...
Zman, for playing a frost mage, so I dont have to...
Ratshag, for singlehandedly justifying ever orc sterotype out there... Mabd has a quiver of sharp pointy things with yo name on them, brother...
TJ, fer blowing the great bet, thus proving the inferiority of (in no particular order...)
warlocks, humans and females...
And lastly, the great one, BRK, who retired. By which I mean, he went down to two posts for a week, then resumed his happy little daily musings...
K...
Yes, Herk is Kelmar. I'm not gonna bother linking him anymore, he doan bother blogging since he got his promotion. We're kinda screwed, arena wise, till 2.3 comes out. I've convinced him to hold on to all honor and arena points so as to get uber gear. When that happens... we should get a little better. Mabd is around 3.5 k arena points and 15k honor. Majeure is sitting sweet with nearly 25k honor, and she's not even 70 yet (/fangirlsqueal). Did I mention that I have five epics and the Bringer of Death waiting for her at 70?
I've decided to go deep arcane with Maj for her arena spec. 13 fire,
48 arcane (maybe switch a couple o points to get elemental precision...) My reasoning... I really do appreciate the buff/debuff game element. Slow actually has potential for me, now that I've spent time running around smacking warriors and rogues. Without ice armor, I won't have the passive chill effect, so I'll need something else. Since I'm used to a hunter, I've decided to go with a build that will enable me to maintain maximum range while dpsing... which should help a bit with the current bane for mages, shammies, s. priests and locks.
Its all play style... and I'll be able to bring the beatdown on almost anything if my skill is up to it.
As for the MM build... Herk isn't too happy with me. My ability to absolutely shed aggro with TBW is restricted... but now I can spank pallies, which I couldn't before. And warriors. I have more problems with rogues now, but I'm getting better at it. And when dead zone disappears, I'll be able to zap em when they get within my detect hidden zone.
Again, more options require more skill... but have a bigger payoff.
My fav arena moment so far... We go into ruins of L... and i see one player with detect humanoids... do a /target... tell herk... "pally in base..."
Herk rushes in, and I see the rogue stealthed coming for me. So I scatter the little bastard, set the trap, and get ready for him...
Then Herk rushes out and lambastes the rogue.
I look up at the screen... the pally died in about 6 secs...
Says Herk... "He got silly..."
My least fav moment... again, ruins of L. We come out, turn the corner, and there are a warrior and lock. I SS the lock, Herk rushes him, and the lock turns and runs into the base while the warrior comes at me. Herk follows into the base, I SS the warrior.
The warrior trickets outta the scatter, and walks into the freeze trap, while I run past into the base to help Herk... only to see him crumple just as I make it in...
There I was, all alone in the base with a lock permanently in my deadzone till I could get out... and with SS and traps on CD.
Ouchies. Herk went down faster than a security guard in a slasher film.
Shifttusk, for all the great hunter pvp advice. If only he weren't a stinking cannibal bridge lurking savage... enjoy the nerf, troll!
Out of Mana, the best thing I've found so far on arena ins and outs...
Zman, for playing a frost mage, so I dont have to...
Ratshag, for singlehandedly justifying ever orc sterotype out there... Mabd has a quiver of sharp pointy things with yo name on them, brother...
TJ, fer blowing the great bet, thus proving the inferiority of (in no particular order...)
warlocks, humans and females...
And lastly, the great one, BRK, who retired. By which I mean, he went down to two posts for a week, then resumed his happy little daily musings...
K...
Yes, Herk is Kelmar. I'm not gonna bother linking him anymore, he doan bother blogging since he got his promotion. We're kinda screwed, arena wise, till 2.3 comes out. I've convinced him to hold on to all honor and arena points so as to get uber gear. When that happens... we should get a little better. Mabd is around 3.5 k arena points and 15k honor. Majeure is sitting sweet with nearly 25k honor, and she's not even 70 yet (/fangirlsqueal). Did I mention that I have five epics and the Bringer of Death waiting for her at 70?
I've decided to go deep arcane with Maj for her arena spec. 13 fire,
48 arcane (maybe switch a couple o points to get elemental precision...) My reasoning... I really do appreciate the buff/debuff game element. Slow actually has potential for me, now that I've spent time running around smacking warriors and rogues. Without ice armor, I won't have the passive chill effect, so I'll need something else. Since I'm used to a hunter, I've decided to go with a build that will enable me to maintain maximum range while dpsing... which should help a bit with the current bane for mages, shammies, s. priests and locks.
Its all play style... and I'll be able to bring the beatdown on almost anything if my skill is up to it.
As for the MM build... Herk isn't too happy with me. My ability to absolutely shed aggro with TBW is restricted... but now I can spank pallies, which I couldn't before. And warriors. I have more problems with rogues now, but I'm getting better at it. And when dead zone disappears, I'll be able to zap em when they get within my detect hidden zone.
Again, more options require more skill... but have a bigger payoff.
My fav arena moment so far... We go into ruins of L... and i see one player with detect humanoids... do a /target... tell herk... "pally in base..."
Herk rushes in, and I see the rogue stealthed coming for me. So I scatter the little bastard, set the trap, and get ready for him...
Then Herk rushes out and lambastes the rogue.
I look up at the screen... the pally died in about 6 secs...
Says Herk... "He got silly..."
My least fav moment... again, ruins of L. We come out, turn the corner, and there are a warrior and lock. I SS the lock, Herk rushes him, and the lock turns and runs into the base while the warrior comes at me. Herk follows into the base, I SS the warrior.
The warrior trickets outta the scatter, and walks into the freeze trap, while I run past into the base to help Herk... only to see him crumple just as I make it in...
There I was, all alone in the base with a lock permanently in my deadzone till I could get out... and with SS and traps on CD.
Ouchies. Herk went down faster than a security guard in a slasher film.
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