Trying out GarUI

  I revamped my UI using Gar UI as a base. My old UI looked crappy, and I started getting critical errors. I can't stand those. Besides, it looked like crap. It worked well, but was about as sleek as Dastun station wagon.

Old and Busted

PvP Progress: A Few Arena Battles

 My new nemesis.

I tried my hand at arena to get some last minute conquest, along with a patient Holy Pally guildmate. I called our ad hoc 2v2 team Maceinyourface, and our record is a crappy 3-8. Beginner's 2v2 seems to be hit or miss in terms of difficulty, but mostly miss for me.

A Proper Introduction

Before I dive too far in, I should say a few things about myself.

I played a little in 2005 as a Tauren Hunter, but honestly, I don't even remember the name of the guild I was in. Death Something or other. Something generic and forgettable, whatever. Doesn't count. My point is, I know what pulling and chain trapping used to be.

I started playing again in Feb 2010, quietly leveling in Eutopia. When I reached level cap in July, I geared up and started raiding ICC. As a group, we did not down LK, but we were close. It was a great run, but patch 4.0 dispersed us, and we never fully formed back up.

I reluctantly left Eutopia this summer and started shopping around for a new guild. Not to call people out, but a lot of guilds are full of morons and slackers. Even the big names. I know that sounds weak coming from me, but it's true. After many months of PuGs and yet even more incompletions (Haven't done Al'Akir to date, much less Rag), I've settled into Ephemera, and started doing Rated Battlegrounds.

Never did I imagine I would like PvP. I got to 1600 on my Hunter, 1700 on my Priest at the end of Season 10, though I kind of jumped in to the tail end of it. For Season 11, my goal is to help keep Ephemera on top of Durotan Rateds, and get to 2000 rating on both my Hunter and Priest. I might also do some arena with my Shammy.

Anticipated Changes to Pet Buffs

*This is reposted from the WHH forums.

The recent live developer Q and A contained one comment that has significant implications to pets and their buff/debuff system. Only one debuff provided by pets (+bleed damage) was mentioned, but the implication is that the entire buff/debuff system is under review. From the Q and A:

Comment From Spinner:
What will happen to passive abilities like trueshot aura, arcane tactics, improved icy talons and unleashed rage? Where will they go in the new talent system?

Ghostcrawler: Many of those become passive abilities you get for your spec. We are removing some of the less interesting buffs and debuffs (+bleed damage, armor, 3% damage, resists are all on the chopping block at the moment).

Now, just because they are on the chopping block doesn't mean the specific examples given are going away for sure. Also, I do want to point out that GC didn't say unimportant or underused buffs/debuffs would be cut, but "less interesting" ones. This begs the question: "What defines an interesting buff?"

How To Choose Professions: Min/Maxing, Making Money, Self Sufficiency

"What professions should I choose?" There's not a one size fits all answer, as it relies heavily on your motivations. Do you want to min/max your profession perks? Do you want to make gold? Do you want to make gear or items for yourself and friends? Likely, it's a combination of these. I'll go over each of these motivations and how professions benefit a Hunter most.

Hunter's pets and class identity.

Today on Scattered Shots, Frostheim offhandedly mentions "...a handful of hunters who'd like to do away with pets entirely". I despise this idea with a passion. I'm not a dedicated Beastmaster Hunter by any means, and it's my least played spec, but merely the idea of removing pets, even just for Marksman Hunters, puts a bitter taste in my mouth.