Drama Time, Two Gquits in a Row

  When I stopped raiding on my Pally, it was because people who call themselves <Nubs For Life> apparently are not willing to entertain the idea that they could be wrong, or could improve. Pally tanks in 5.0/5.1 capped hit, hardcapped expertise, and stacked haste and/or mastery. (I stacked mastery). I was told I would not be able to roll main spec on the haste/hit cloak off the first boss in HoF, since it didn't have dodge or parry on it. Guess what's last in my stat priority? Dodge and parry. They're not bad, just not as good as mastery and haste. (5.2 balances stats out, but haste is not dead, just diminished a bit. The change makes it so dodge and parry don't cause revulsion at the sight of it.) Not being allowed to roll for a BiS item was the beginning of the end for me. Also, I was already seeing that the other tank had the attitude that he was as good as it gets, and the healers were never, ever at fault for anything.

  The night we finally started real attempts on Elegon, DPS was pushing us into the phases just fine, and even killing the add a bit early sometimes, making it difficult to deal with the resulting AoE. Healers just didn't have the throughput to keep up, but wouldn't and couldn't be blamed. Fault is fault, and there's no reason to take it personal, it's just fault. If you can't accept it, you can't improve.

  Earlier in the night, the tank shield dropped. Since I already had the LFR version, upgraded, it wasn't a huge upgrade for me, so I told the raid that if someone had a blue shield they could replace, I'd let them have it. So the pug got it. No problem. Except that when I start armory stalking people trying to figure out what all was going on, I notice that the pug had the LFR shield. I /w the raid leader to explain what was going on, but no luck. I /w the pug to reiterate I was giving it up only to replace a blue, but no luck.

 So I /gquit and /ignored a bunch of Nubs. I should have seen it coming. These players were waiting for luck and gear to get them through it. Skill>Gear, people! As a matter of record, the pug was from <Foundation>, the guild leader of which is Killergreys. I was cautioned by Nubs not to play with that "drunk piece of shit". I don't know the guy, and I'm not saying that's what he is, just saying that's what Nubs think of him. Huh, maybe if Nubs don't like him, I might. I like getting drunk too! But his guild mate is, well... a good player (topped the meters), but damn she got offended really fast. Fran, if you read this, I don't hate you. It was just a misunderstanding. I gquit for the other reasons, not for the shield. I really don't care about gear that much. I care about playing well.

  I took an invite to raid with <Ferus Ordo> on my Rogue, but after a couple of nights of raiding, I didn't like what I saw. The class officer was telling me to stand behind the boss and use Backstab as my main combo point generator. Which I was doing! Duh! What would he tell me next, that W moves me forward? Not helpful. Not relevant. The problem was that the healers were not healing me at all sometimes. I'd die to Spirit Bolt after not getting healed for 20 seconds. A Rogue cannot live on Leeching Poison, Shiv, and Recuperate alone. We'd gotten into a bad cycle of "He dies early, so not worth healing as much" causing me to die more often, due to no heals, furthering reinforcing the idea I'm not worth healing, which causes me to die even more! After the raid, I gquit with no speech and went about my dailies. The class officer asked me a few questions about it, wanted to know if he had been too hard on me (pfft, no), and acknowledging that I wasn't getting healed, but I stayed non-committal. I just don't like drama. The guild leader took it personal though.

  If that's the attitude of the guild leader, I don't want to be anywhere near them. (Damn, that typo is embarrassing. WTF is "raif"?) New Rule: Don't take very seriously anyone who uses a variation of "slap in the face". Offense is taken. If you are offended, it's your fault. Also, the guild hopper accusation is baseless. I played only in Ephemera since I rolled that character. I went out on a limb to try a new guild, and decided that the first one that I tried wasn't worth it. Holy crap! I'm such a guild hopper!

  So now that my dirty laundry is sufficiently aired, I'm gonna get into the new content. Happy Patch Day everyone!

Playing Rares

  It seems to have gotten to that point just before a new patch where seemingly boring topics get brought up, but a certain type of player flocks to the topic and is so eager to dissect it, share data, exposit opinions, ect. I am that type of player. As a matter of fact, the URL of this blog (thehunterchannel) is a reference to when my Wrath guild members would say they'd get me my own Hunter channel to talk about the finer details of playing the class (of which is my 5th 90, but still my main!). I think they just wanted me to shut up so we could get on with the raid, though.

  Anyway, the latest topic to take my fancy is race/class combinations! How exciting! I've already posted about My opinion of WoW Races, in which I reference Pratchett, Tolkien, Star Trek, and Napolean Dynomite, but so far I've been mostly silent about classes, much less race/class combinations. The article that piqued my interest is Are you a rare? on WoW Insider. Of the race/class combos listed, I play a Dwarf Mage, a Tauren Monk, and a Dwarf Rogue. The Mage and Monk are level 30 and 20, so they don't really count yet, but the Dwarf Rogue does in spades.

  The race/class list:

1. Troll Monk: 17,100
2. Dwarf Monk: 17,700
3. Orc Monk: 23,200
4. Dwarf Mage: 33,700
5. Tauren Monk: 34,400
6. Gnome Monk: 35,000
7. Undead Monk: 44,300
8. Dwarf Warlock: 44,800
9. Pandaren Rogue: 57,100
10. Troll Warlock: 60,800
11. Orc Mage: 64,800
12. Dwarf Rogue: 65,200
13. Troll Death Knight: 69,000
14. Pandaren Mage: 70,400
15. Blood Elf Monk: 72,200

As the article points out, Monks feature heavily, mostly due to the heavy influence of Pandaren Monks. If we eliminate Monks from the list, we get:

1. Dwarf Mage: 33,700
2. Dwarf Warlock: 44,800
3. Pandaren Rogue: 57,100
4. Troll Warlock: 60,800
5. Orc Mage: 64,800
6. Dwarf Rogue: 65,200
7. Troll Death Knight: 69,000
8. Pandaren Mage: 70,400

   About Pandaren Mages and Rogues briefly, I think it's natural that the Rogue option is less popular, since Monks are the newer option, the Legendary Bump is over, and the class is currently experiencing somewhat of a population crunch. Cynwise has an amazing as usual article that touches on it. I can't begin to guess why Pandaren Mages are less popular, though.

  Of the new options Cataclysm brought us, we have Dwarf Mage, Dwarf Warlock, Orc Mage, and Troll Warlock on the Rare list. If we consider the bonuses other races have that benefit casters, i.e. Gnomes, Draenei, and Worgen, it's apparent why people playing these classes tend not to choose Dwarf. That doesn't explain why Orc Mages are unpopular, though, since Blood Fury is a competitive racial trait, as well as Command, for Frost spec. Same with Trolls with Berserking and Beast Slaying. I guess everyone is just rolling Blood Elves.

  That leaves Troll Death Knights from Wrath, and Dwarf Rogues from Classic.

  Why Troll Death Knights are not more popular, I can't even begin to guess. Neither can I begin to care. It's not that I dislike Trolls, I'm just largely indifferent to them. I really like Vol'jin's character, and the story of the Trolls in general, but it just doesn't click for me. It's not that I dislike Death Knights either. Some of my favorite tanks are Death Knights.

  Dwarf Rogues are a unique specimen. Dwarves are typically more traditional, plain, straight forward. There's nothing sneaky or sinister about a beer stein in the face. It would seem that Dwarves are more Strength or Stamina types than Agility, except that there is a large Dwarf Hunter and Shaman population, and I'm pretty sure a lot of those Shaman are specced Enhance. So what is it about Rogues that is different than those two classes? Well, for Dwarf Shaman, there's the Wildhammer heritage being claimed, and Dwarf Hunters were featured in the friggin WoW Preview. For Rogues, there's not so much in the way of lore or story.

  Why I play a Dwarf Rogue really has nothing to do with the particular race/class dynamic. I just like Dwarves. When I went to roll a new class, the first decision was Horde or Ally, and since Tauren cannot be Rogues, it defaulted to Ally. Since Dwarves can be Rogues, it defaulted to Dwarf Rogue. I didn't even consider playing any of the other races. I tried a Worgen Druid, but Worgen are just especially hairy and noisy Humans. I have a Human Priest (which I have considered race changing to Dwarf, but I've grown attached), but one Human is enough. I've played the old and new Gnome starting zone, just for the experience, so I know for sure I could not play a Gnome for any greater length of time.

  Special by happenstance, I suppose. A female Dwarf Rogue, my first to 90, and my best equipped, currently. I'm raiding as Sub with a Combat spec for the Dogs. I've been farming a bit of honor upgrading my last 463's, but I'm not very good at Rogue PvP. I do like capping a lot. Between Smoke Bomb, Blind, and outright burst DPS, I can capture Gold Mine often enough. Now if Ally can just defend a base once in a while, we'd be winning.

Building a Raid: Raiding and Guild Membership Principles

Principle 1:
 Raid teams tend to be hosted by guilds, and players who wish to raid tend to gravitate toward guilds that provide raiding opportunities.

  One would be denying the most basic aspect of the raiding community in Warcraft to disagree with the above. I welcome any proof to the contrary. Please, prove me wrong. Seriously.

  Given that assumption, I propose two more principles that compete with it:

Principle 2:
 The Guild is not the Raid and the Raid is not the Guild.

Principle 3:
 Guild membership is a player choice, made in concert with other priorities.

  I will expound on each of these, to be clear on what I mean.

The Guild is not the Raid

  Warcraft guilds unite around a common set of acceptable behavior. That behavior varies, so you have some guilds advertising "Be mature" and others saying "Anything goes". Level and gear doesn't matter, so long as you don't break the rules. This is a natural part of gameplay, and it allows the game to cater to us all in our own way.

  However, when a raid team starts to form, additional rules begin to apply. Gear is checked for readiness, and performance is evaluated. Availability and attendance is taken into account. Stricter requirements form.

The Raid is not the Guild

  Players that do not fit the guild's rules may sometimes be allowed in the raid. For example, foul language may be banned in guild chat. If a raid member does not use foul language in guild chat, but does in raid chat, or over Vent, a double standard is apparent.

  This apparent hypocrisy brings to light the difference between the Raid and the Guild. They are two social circles that tend to overlap, but both have separate requirements.

Guild Membership is a Player Choice

 No one else can tell a player what to do with the time they pay for. "It's my $15 a month" is the phrase that best represents the attitude I'm alluding to. Pressuring another player to change allegiance based on a single aspect of gameplay, be it raiding, PvP, whatever, is ineffective in the long run, and does not instill true loyalty.

Made in Concert With Other Priorities

  Players do tend to flock towards guilds that provide the gaming opportunities that are in their interest. However, those interests may be in conflict. The stereotypical "No-lifer" with full availability, who can devote 40+ hours a week toward any given goal is just not common enough to be a realistic stereotype. Players are also people, with real lives, often a job, relationships, even other hobbies.

  The most hardcore of guilds take these factors into account, and casual guilds tend to cater to such factors. In the middle seem to be a group of people who aspire to be "hardcore" yet they fail to recognize these factors. With such "hardcore" players, such things as having a job, a significant other, child, or pet, another hobby, or even a properly functioning digestive tract that needs occasional attention brands a player as "casual." Loremaster is "casual." Exploring is "casual." Fishing is "casual." Gradually leveling an alt is "casual." Doing old content is "casual." Anything outside their specific, personal goal is "casual."

  Different players have different goals, and they must be accounted for. If enough available player's goals are aligned with a given group's requirements, have fun storming the castle. If there are not enough available players meeting such requirements, perhaps the requirements should change.

Building a Raid: Slots and Buff/Debuff Optimization

I've been considering starting a raid team, so this post and a few to follow are my opinions on how a raid should be established and managed. My intention is to have a page I can point people to so they know what to expect, and to make myself open to constructive criticism on the record. I welcome any advice.

Ideal 10 Man Raid Composition:

1. Tank
2. Tank/DPS
3. Healer
4. Healer
5. Healer/DPS
6. DPS
7. DPS
8. DPS
9. DPS/Tank
10. DPS/Healer

Ideal Tank Team:

Two tanks who know what they're doing. 1 tank must have a DPS off-spec. While it might be ideal having 1 Plate and 1 Leather wearing tank, gear competition takes backseat to having two tanks that work well together.


Ideal Healer Team Composition:

• Pally or Disc Priest (Absorbs based) - Tank Healer
• Shaman or Monk (Synergy/Utility) - Tank and/or Raid Healer
• Druid or Holy Priest (HoT/AoE based) - Raid Healer

Effective performance takes precedence over class/spec preference.
1 healer is greatly desired to have a DPS off-spec, increasingly so with progression.
For fights where one tank takes damage at a time, use one healer on tanks, two on raid.
For fights where both tanks take damage simultaneously, use 1 healer on each tank with overlap between them.
Healer assignments are priorities. All healers heal all raiders, prioritizing their assignments.
I don't know much about Monks other than what I've read on EJ, Noxxic, Icy-Veins, and WoW Insider.


Ideal DPS composition:

• Competent DPS that stays out of fire.

Seriously, that's it. I'll take 3 Locks and 2 Rogues that get it done over an ideal balance of specs that fails.

Having 1 DPS each with a tank and healing off-spec will greatly reduce raid delays or cancellations, but should not be required of DPS who don't wish to fill those roles.

Buff/Debuff Optimization:

Player performance comes before class consideration by far. This information is to help optimize any given group composition, not to guide recruiting.

Hunters should be prepared to bring a pet that has a buff/debuff otherwise missing from raid composition. A handy Flowchart can help.

TL;DR (BM only/all specs):

Core Hound>Quilen>5% Stats>Mastery>5% Crit>10% Stamina>assess caster/melee balance>
Caster Heavy: 10% Spell Power>8% Magic Damage>10% Physical Haste>4% Physical Vunerability>12% Weakened Armor
Melee Heavy: 10% Physical Haste>4% Physical Vunerability>12% Weakened Armor>10% Spell Power>8% Magic Damage

Buffs:

10% Attack Power

• Death Knight: [Horn of Winter]
• Hunter: [Trueshot Aura]
• Warrior: [Battle Shout]

10% Physical Haste

• Death Knight: (Frost, Unholy) [Unholy Aura]
• Hunter: (Pet) Hyena: [Cackling Howl], Serpent: [Serpent's Swiftness]
• Rogue: [Swiftblade's Cunning]
• Shaman: (Enhancement) [Unleashed Rage]

5% Increased stats

• Druid: [Mark of the Wild]
• Hunter: (Pet) Shale Spider: [Embrace of the Shale Spider]
• Monk: [Legacy of the Emperor]
• Paladin: [Blessing of Kings]

5% Critical bonus

• Druid: (Feral, Guardian) [Leader of the Pack]
• Hunter: (Pet) Wolf: [Furious Howl], Water strider: [Still Water], Devilsaur: [Terrifying Roar]
• Mage: [Arcane Brilliance]/ [Dalaran Brilliance]
• Monk: (Windwalker) [Legacy of the White Tiger]

Mastery

• Hunter: (Pet) Cat: [Roar of Courage], Spirit Beast: [Spirit Beast Blessing]
• Paladin: [Blessing of Might]
• Shaman: [Grace of Air]

10% Spell Power

• Hunter: (Pet) Water strider: [Still Water]
• Mage: [Arcane Brilliance]/ [Dalaran Brilliance]
• Shaman: [Burning Wrath]
• Warlock: [Dark Intent]

5% Spell Haste

• Druid: (Balance) [Moonkin Form]
• Priest: (Shadow) [Shadowform]
• Shaman: (Elemental) [Elemental Oath]

10% Stamina

• Hunter: (Pet) Silithid: [Qiraji Fortitude]
• Priest: [Power Word: Fortitude]
• Warlock: (Pet) Imp: [Blood Pact]
• Warrior: [Commanding Shout]   

 (source) 

Given the popularity of both Hunters and DK's, 10% AP is not a problem

10% Physical Haste is likely to be covered, but should be checked for.

5% Stats will almost certainly be covered. If there is no Druid, Pally, or Monk, that is a strange group comp indeed.

5% Crit should be checked for.

Mastery is likely be covered.

10% Spell Power likely to be covered.

5% Spell Haste should especially be checked for, since only 3 specs bring it.

Debuffs:

Weakened Armor

Effect: -12% armor

• Druid: [Faerie Fire]
• Hunter: (Pet) Tallstrider: [Dust Cloud]
• Hunter: (Pet) Raptor: [Tear Armor]
• Rogue: [Expose Armor]
• Warrior: [Sunder Armor]

Physical Vulnerability

Effect: +4% physical damage taken

• Death Knight: (Frost) [Brittle Bones]
• Death Knight: (Unholy) [Ebon Plaguebringer]
• Hunter: (Pet) Boar: [Gore]
• Hunter: (Pet) Ravager: [Ravage]
• Hunter: (Beast Mastery): (Pet) Rhino: [Stampede]
• Hunter: (Beast Mastery): (Pet) Worm: [Acid Spit]
• Paladin: (Retribution) [Judgments of the Bold]
• Warrior: (Arms, Fury) [Colossus Smash]

Magic Vulnerability

Effect: +8% spell damage taken

• Hunter: (Pet) Dragonhawk: [Fire Breath]
• Hunter: (Pet) Wind Serpent: [Lightning Breath]
• Rogue: [Master Poisoner]
• Warlock: [Curse of the Elements]

Weakened Blows

Effect: -10% physical damage done.

• Death Knight: (Blood) [Scarlet Fever]
• Druid: (Feral, Guardian) [Thrash]
• Hunter: (Pet) Bear: [Demoralizing Roar]
• Hunter: (Pet) Carrion Bird: [Demoralizing Screech]
• Monk: (Brewmaster) [Keg Smash]
• Shaman: [Earth Shock]
• Paladin: (Protection, Retribution) [Hammer of the Righteous]
• Warrior: [Thunder Clap]

 (source)

Though Resto Druids can provide Weakened Armor, it's much preferable not to distract them. If there is no non-healing Druid, this should be provided by a Hunter before a Warrior or Rogue, unless another buff is needed as well..

If there is no Plate DPS, but there is a Hunter with a Rogue and/or Feral Druid, the Hunter should probably bring the Physical Vulnerability debuff, depending on group comp.

Magic Vulnerability is the moste likely debuff to be missing, as Warlocks and Rogues are less popular. If a raid is otherwise heavy on magic damage but missing these classes, a Hunter should provide this buff.

As all tanks bring Weakened Blows, this debuff is not a concern.

Guide to Professions: Best For...

  "What is the best profession for my class?"

  This is the most common question I've heard from people choosing professions, and it's actually the easiest to answer. The fine folks theorycrafting on Elitist Jerks and other sites have done the math, and can answer that question definitively, so what I've done is compile that information, and condense it into a list format.  I provide links for further information, and just a bit of explanation where I believe necessary.

Tanks

Best:
Leatherworking - 710 Stamina (750 from Fur Lining minus 40 from Major Stamina). "750 Stamina is the same item budget as 1000 Mastery so even once you subtract the 170 [Mastery] you still end up at 830" - EJ.

Better:
Blacksmithing - 480 Stamina or 640 Mastery, Dodge, or Parry.
Jewelcrafting - 480 Stamina or 320 Mastery, Dodge, or Parry from 2 JC gems.
Alchemy - 480 Stamina from Mixology + Flask of the Earth.
Enchanting - 480 Stamina from 2x Enchant Ring - Greater Stamina. (Tooltip bugged to say 160 each, is 240.)
Mining - 480 Stamina from Toughness.

Good:
Inscription -  450 Stamina from Secret Ox Horn Inscription.
Engineering - 480 Dodge averaged. Phase Fingers gives 2880 Dodge for 10sec, 60sec cooldown.

  I list Engineering lower because of Dodge's greater diminishing returns compared to Parry. For all tanks other than Druids, it is not one of the best options, but is still good. For Druids, the Parry/Dodge comparison is irrelevant, but Dodge still competes with both Stamina and Mastery.

   Druid tanks may choose to stack Agility as it "Increases your Attack Power (threat), Dodge (survivability), and Crit Chance (threat + survivability)." - noxxic. Similarly for Monks, "Attack Power improves the mitigation of Guard and Crit increases the uptime of Brewing: Elusive Brew."- noxxic. In that case, follow the Agility options in the next section.

Strength/Agility DPS

Best: 
Leatherworking - 330 Strength or Agility. (500 from Fur Lining minus 170 Strength or Agility enchants.)

Better:
Engineering - 320 averaged. Synapse Springs gives 1920 Agi for 10sec, 60sec cooldown.
Blacksmithing - 320 Strength or Agility.
Alchemy - 320 Str/Agi from Mixology + Flask of Winter's Bite or Flask of Spring Blossoms.
Enchanting - 320 Str/Agi from 2x Enchant Ring - Greater Strength or Enchant Ring - Greater Agility.
Jewelcrafting - 320 Strength or Agility.
Inscription - 320 Str/Agi from Secret Tiger Fang Inscription or Secret Tiger Claw Inscription.

Good:
Herbalism - 480 Haste average. Lifeblood gives 2880 Haste for 20sec every 120sec.
Tailoring -  1,000 AP average. Swordguard Embroidery procs for 4,000 AP for 15sec every 60sec. Does not stack with 180 Crit or Hit enchants.
Skinning - 480 Crit from Master of Anatomy.

Intellect DPS/Healers

Best:
Leatherworking - 330 Intellect (500 from Fur Lining minus 170 Intellect enchant.)

Better:
Engineering - 320 averaged. Synapse Springs gives 1920 Intellect for 10sec, 60sec cooldown.
Blacksmithing - 320 Intellect.
Alchemy - 320 Intellect from Mixology + Flask of the Warm Sun.
Enchanting - 320 Intellect from 2x Enchant Ring - Greater Intellect.
Jewelcrafting - 320 Intellect.
Inscription - 320 Intellect from Secret Crane Wing Inscription.
Tailoring - 320 Intellect average (500 minus 180 Intellect enchant.) Lightweave Embroidery procs 2,000 Intellect for 15sec every 60sec.

Good:
Herbalism - 480 Haste average. Lifeblood gives 2880 Haste for 20sec every 120sec. The self heal is 15-17k (125-141.7 HPS average).
Skinning - 480 Crit from Master of Anatomy.

Healers (Spirit Options)

Best:
Tailoring - 900 Spirit average. Darkglow Embroidery procs 3,000 Spirit for 15sec every 50sec. Does not stack with 180 Intellect enchant.

Better:
Blacksmithing - 640 Spirit.

Good:
Alchemy - 320 Spirit from Mixology + Flask of Falling Leaves.
Jewelcrafting - 320 Spirit.

Ink Trader

17 days into the new expansion, and still no new ink trade. This is ridiculous.

I can understand the vendors trading Blackfallow during the pre-patch, even though that was a change from previous expansions. I had stocked up on low-level inks to prepare for stocks running out during that time, but it didn't happen. That's fine. I didn't loose profit on it, just got delayed. Glyphs will sell eventually.

What I don't understand is why Blackfallow is still the trade in currency now, for over two weeks past release.

I've always taken the changes to the game in stride, since change cannot be resisted very much. Off the top of my head, I can think of Frostheim's petition to Ghostcrawler to maintain Hunter pet's uncritability going into Cata, Aspects going back off the GCD, and Zehera's frequent feedback on the forums, particularly the issue of using Explosive Trap vs. Black Arrow. Sometimes Blizzard does change it's plans based on feedback.

  "Beginning after the maintenance on Tuesday, October 9, ink traders will be converting from accepting Blackfallow Ink to accepting Ink of Dreams and Starlight Ink will become available for purchase. If you’re still holding on to your Blackfallow Ink, your time to trade it in is running short." - source

It is apparent that Blizzard is aware of the issue, has plans to change it, and did not intend to extend the Blackfallow trade in past Tuesday. The design intent is clear, and I'll be patient as they solve the technical issues preventing them from making the change. I think everyone should be.

However, I still think it's ridiculous that Blackfallow is the trade in currency for any amount of time in Mists. It just doesn't make sense.

P.S. I do not think this is a "Slap in the face" or any such nonsense. It's just one of the most aggravating experiences I've had in WoW. 

Ding Level 90 #1

  My Rogue is the first to be leveled, and I'm starting on the Tillers rep grind. I'll do the Direbrew event and I turned in the Claw for the epic boots, but I'm probably not going to focus on progressing this character right away. I really only leveled this character first to get Motes of Harmony farming ASAP. Likewise, my Priest is my next focus, my Pally next.

  I've found that simply questing yields a fantastic amount of XP, along with a bit of gold and some fun items. The gear stays current enough that I bought very few pieces of adventuring gear. On my Rogue I went north from Valley of the 4 Winds through Kun-Lai into Townlong, completing every quest. Doing so, along with a bit of gathering, got me to ding early in Dread Wastes. I'm sure I'll finish the zone eventually, for the rep or the gold or just out of a sense of completionism, but it's officially backburnered and my Rogue is now primarily a crafting alt.

  I'll level my Priest next, since it's the next character that I want to farm Harmony with, and I'm planning on sticking with dungeons. I expect to need more of that adventuring gear.

Random Ramblings: Guides Backburnered, Questing and Gathering

  I've been writing and re-writing my continuation on how to choose professions, but I think they're all due for a complete re-write. My original intent was to answer the question "What professions should I take?", but the 4 parts I've written so far (Choosing First Profs and Choosing Profs for 1-2 Characters published, parts 3,4 unpublished) are answering the more specific question "What professions pair well together?", which is a good question,  but narrow in focus. I'm going to start mostly from scratch, taking inspiration from one of my first blog posts: How To Choose Professions: Min/Maxing, Making Money, Self Sufficiency. Naturally, the information is out of date, and it's kind of brief, but it does address the three major motivations to choosing professions. 

  My proposed outline would then be:

HTCP: Min/Maxing - A short list showing compiled data from sources such as Elitist Jerks and other Class/Role specific websites, with links. Mostly written already, but lacking a few specifics.

HTCP: Best Professions for Leveling Players - I'll use the existing Choosing First Profs article, but with more content and more explicit focus on addressing new players.

HTCP: 1-2 Characters - The existing article proposes options with some commentary. I'll extend the commentary and rework the format to be less choppy. Dividing options between 2 Gathering, Gathering/Crafting, and 2 Crafting works well, but I need to address optimizing Spirit of Harmony.

HTCP: 3-5 Characters - It's already written in the format of the previous one, and has Spirit of Hamony optimization options listed, but I'm not satisfied with the choppy format. Dividing options based on varying amounts of Gathering professions taken becomes less relevant. Instead I'll see if I can divide options between focusing on specific markets, Spirit of Harmony optimization, and doubling up professions for extra cooldowns.

HTCP: 6+ Characters - With 12 profession slots, it's possible to take every profession, so streamlining options for efficiency (i.e. not logging in and out 20 times an hour) becomes important. It's not written yet, but I expect it to be similar to the previous one.

  For now, though, I've been questing and gathering, the two things I've always hated! I've completed the first two zones on my Rogue Herbalist, while gathering enough to get started on my 3 daily Inscription cooldowns and level my Horde Alchemy (not specced yet). I'll be leveling my Ally Alchemy next (transmute specced) just to get that cooldown started. I've also started questing/gathering on my DK Miner. Since he's Blood specced, mostly normal mode gear, and gemmed/enchanted/reforged to the hilt, I'm blowing through packs of mobs that my Rogue had to run from.

  But the questing really had me entranced! Normally I just do dungeons to level, but I'm really enjoying the questing experience so far. I'll probably start skipping ahead to Valley of the Four Winds eventually, just to get the farm going on crafting alts, but if the last zones all provide a good set of gear, that's how I'll prepare for heroics/raiding.

  Jade Forest did not feel like a chore to complete, but finding the occasional talking target was difficult and it was a bit buggy here and there. I flew though the map once on my ride to the top of Serpent's Heart. I think the conclusion of the zone was pretty epic.

  Valley of the Four Winds I was a little all over the place, kinda haphazardly going from place to place. A few of the quests confused me, one was bugged and couldn't be completed at first, and I fell through the map once. Now that I know what all the quests are, I'll be rolling through them faster on alts with less frustration. Paoquan Hollow and Nesingwary's Safari seemed a little disparate from the rest of the zone experience, but were fun in their own right.

  I'll probably start dungeons on my Hunter and Priest, skip ahead to Krasarang Wilds with my DK, and take my Rogue through Kun-Lai Summit.

Guide to Professions: Choosing Professions, 1-2 Characters

All Professions Lead to Profit

  Suppose you have one or more characters at level 80 or higher, and are interested in making more gold. You might wonder what the best professions to take are, and with what characters. I'll go through some options, starting with 1 character setups and building from there.

TL;DR
1 - BS/Ench
2 - Mining/JC, BS/Ench - or - Herb/Alch, Insc/Alch

Ding #6

  I've finally leveled my Rogue!

  My Female Dwarf Rogue, to be more specific. I started her along with my Shaman during the Cata pre-patch.  Two years later, my Shammy has enjoyed a bit of attention. A little PvP, a little LFR, but mostly just being my BS/Tailor. Two years later, my Rogue, neglected at level 50 for a loooong time, finally is a max level character.

  She's not one of the "legendary carrot effect" Rogues stomping around. If that were so, then my Priest would have the staff. She is, however, fully enjoying the full assortment of abilities, especially Crimson Tempest, a.k.a. BLOOD EVERYWHERE!!!

  I've been focusing on Assassin. It's a really slow rotation. I've always advised any player, in any role, to keep the GCD going. High activity is the best way to increase DPS, throughput for healers, or threat for tanks, (Also, tank DPS matters) but there's always been one exception in the back of my my mind, though, which I never bother to specify, since they know who they are.

  They're Rogues.

  I know I'm very new to the class, but I think a major way to improve it might be to remove the Energy cost of finishers. My impression so far of the Rogue rotations is: Build combo points>wait for energy>use finisher>wait for energy>repeat. If finishers only cost the combo points they use, then it would be: Build combo points>use finisher>build combo points>repeat. Assassin would still have the wait time between Mutilates, but it would be lessened by the extra Energy not spent on finishers.

  There would have to be a lot of re-balancing to adjust for the major increase in DPS this would cause, but it would decrease the time wasted between button presses waiting on Energy. This is mostly Assassin I'm looking at, but the Combat rotation outside of haste buffs has the same issue.

  For now, though, I'll just spec Combat (Dwarves use maces, see?) and gear up just a little bit, enough to get into LFR. I'm not going to spend any significant amount of time or gold on it, I just want to raid a little on my newest maxed alt. PvP can wait for next season.

Guide to Professions: Choosing your First Professions

  Since I've been playing a lot with all the professions,  I'll try my hand at guides to the professions. Any input is welcome, and I'll edit and update them as necessary.

   This first part of the guide assumes that you are choosing what professions to take on a brand new character with no high-level support, and that you don't have much experience with professions, if any. I organize the typical starting options into the Best Options, which are profitable for leveling players, Very Good Options, which are very profitable in the long run and fairly easy to level, and Good Options, which can be a short term time and gold cost, but are still good in the long run. I also list Other Options and why I don't recommend them.

  I use WoW-Professions as a general guide to leveling professions. I highly recommend using Auctionator to buy and sell on the Auction House and something like Postal for the mailbox, since the default user interface is just too slow and clumsy.

  The Best Options

   Herbalism/Mining

  My highest recommendation for any player first starting off. Dual gathering goes along well with leveling, as it doesn't take time away from actually leveling.

• It's bonuses are survival-oriented (Lifeblood from Herbalism as soon as you take the profession, Toughness from Mining at 75 points), and they scale as you level. 
• They don't cost anything to level but a nominal fee for trainin.
• Gathering herbs and ore grants a decent amount of experience.

  Gathering herbs requires no special equipment, but you will want a Mining Pick and an Herbalist's Spade, which is usually sold at a vendor right by the mining trainer. I suggest leaving them next to your hearthstone in your bags, so you never forget them.

  I recommend selling herbs and ore on the AH in stacks of 5, 10, or 20. This gives Inscribers and Jewelcrafters convenient stacks for milling and prospecting. Ore can also be sold in stacks of 1 or 2, for Miners to smelt.

  WoW-Profession's guides to Herbalism and Mining are intended to be as efficient as possible for a player at max level, so they may not be the best suited for a player while leveling. If either profession lags behind, though, following these is a great way to catch up.

  Herbalism/Inscription

  Inscription is uniquely profitable very early on (My low-level Inscription guide), and is great for any class just starting off. Be aware that the glyph market can be very competitive, but there's a lot of profit for the dedicated. Just resist the urge to camp, which is canceling and re-listing auctions that get undercut. That's a huge time sink.

  Very Good Options

 Mining/Jewelcrafting

  Any class can benefit from Jewelcrafting, and it has some nice bonuses while leveling, including Stone Statues that heal you, access to some nice rings and neckpieces very early on, and trinkets in the mid-levels and onward.

  Leveling Jewelcrafting along with Mining is, of course, the most economical method. Take this option of you are considering being a serious Gold Maker later on, as Jewelcrafting is a very profitable profession on it's own, as well as being the first half of the Ore Shuffle.

  Tailoring/Enchanting

  Tailoring is a common choice for Priests, Warlocks, and Mages, so they can craft their own armor. There is certainly merit to this in the endgame, since being able to craft armor using your own material and professions can be a great money saver in the long run. While leveling up to 90, though, Tailoring does not actually provide much benefit at all. There are plenty enough great quest rewards and dungeon drops that most items you will be able to craft won't be an upgrade. Even in the few cases where there are upgrades, it's replaced within a few levels.

  Tailoring is classically paired with Enchanting, since crafted items from Tailoring can be used to level Enchanting. Enchanting also does not provide much benefit while leveling, since putting enchants on leveling gear is largely a waste of time and material. The major advantage to having Enchanting while leveling enables a player to always be able to disenchant gear drops in a dungeon and many quest rewards for more than they vendor for.

  Take this option if you think you want to be a Tailor and/or Enchanter when you get to max level. Enchanting is the second half of the Ore Shuffle, so it's also a great choice for anyone who is considering being a Gold Maker.

  Good Options

  Skinning/Leatherworking

  This is a very popular choice for the Leather and Mail wearing classes. Leveling Leatherworking without having Skinning to support is is famously difficult and frustrating, and leveling Skinning without Leatherworking is just about useless, so the two are best leveled together.

  Much like Tailoring, Leatherworking also does not provide much benefit while leveling. Skinning does provide a small Crit bonus which scales as you level, but does not give an XP bonus, as Herbalism and Mining do.

  Take this option only if you are sure you want to be a Leatherworker at max level.

  Mining/Blacksmithing

  Popular for Warriors, Paladins, and Death Knights, Blacksmithing also does not provide much benefit while leveling.

  Take this option if you are sure you want to be a Blacksmith at max level, but be aware that Blacksmithing will use up most of the ore you gather, which cuts into any profit you would make from Mining.

  Herbalism/Alchemy

  While leveling, Alchemy yields mostly useless items. Typically, enough potions drop for players along the way that anything you can make is usually excess. Also, like Blacksmithing and Mining, Alchemy cuts into Herbalism's potential profits.

  Take this option if you are sure you want to be an Alchemist at max level. It's a very profitable profession at max level.

  Mining/Engineering

  Engineering is really fun, with lot's of cool toys. It's especially great for leveling in battlegrounds, where it pairs well with Mining's Toughness.

  At max level, most crafted Engineering items are only useful to the Engineer, but between guns, scopes, pets, and mounts, it has a few niche markets for the dedicated.

  Take this option only if you are dead set on being an Engineer. It's an expensive hassle to level, and not the most profitable in the long run, but it's fun!

Other Options

  Any combination of two crafting professions, i.e. Jewelcrafting/Blacksmithing, is not good for leveling characters who don't have thousands of gold to invest in these professions, as well as the time and patience to use the AH for materials.

  Skinning along with any profession other than Leatherworking is largely useless, unless you are planning on being a double farmer at max level. In that case, it's OK to pair with Herbalism or Mining.

   Enchanting paired with a crafting professions other than Tailoring suffers the disadvantage of being unable to gather materials for crafting.

Crafting IRL: Spicy Mac'n Cheese

  I like to cook, which is why I work at Olive Garden. I'm just a dishwasher now, but I'd like to advance to Culinary Assistant eventually. For now, my forays into cooking are limited to my own kitchen.

Tapping My Fingers, Waiting To Post Glyphs

I had the downloader getting seemingly stuck, but I just went ahead and left it alone, took a nap, boom, done.

I'd say I'm prepared. I took all my glyphs off the market, switched operations over to my new glyph poster/Ink Bank alt (Need the slot to start a Lock), and I'm ready to login and post like usual.

My final ink tally is (Ally/Horde):
Of the Sea - 14,832/866
Ethereal - 4,428/503
Shimmering - 217/74
Celestial - 1,920/171
Jadefire - 3,920/308
Lion's - 3,920/308
Midnight - 3,920/295
Total - 33,157/2,525 (35,682 across both)

That's 11,894 glyphs, on top of the 1,500 or so I have on hand (not sure how many, but probably closer to 2,000) My cost of mats is less than 10g, so all that ink cost 3g33s each or less. I'd say an average sell price of 40g per glyph is a good, conservative estimate, so at least 30g profit each. That's a potential 400,000g profit in my bags, at least. If prices rise to 100g each, that's makes it a potential 1,300,000g profit, all off of about 125,000g invested. I don't expect to sell them all right off, but they will all sell, eventually

I'd say waiting to post is indicative of my playing priority, but really, I just want to get that out of the way so I can start playing Beastmaster Hunter again. Haven't done that in PvE since TotC. It's been due. I tried it out on Beta, of course, so I have a good idea what to expect.

Priest healing looks as incredible as ever, and Shammy healing intrigues me yet again. I haven't devoted much time to it so far, so I don't fully understand the new cooldown paradigm. Using Riptide glyphed intrigues me.

DK tanking looks much the same, I'll just have to add the occasional Blood Boil to refresh diseases, and reforge for some hit and expertise.

Pally tanking I haven't looked at yet, but I'm sure WoW Insider has a good guide.

What I really need to do over the next week is finish leveling my Rogue, along with her Herbalism and Inscription.

And, of course, maintenance is extended 2 hours. Time to stop fretting and do something else.

Specialization vs. Diversification

  One of my constant struggles making gold on Warcraft is deciding what balance to take between specialization and diversification. Focusing on just one or two markets can help reduce the total amount of time and effort going into making gold, but to really get that extra bit of gold, one needs to be sure to tap many markets.

Last Minute Leveling, Milling, and Stocking Up

  My Rogue is at 73, which means she'll certainly become my 6th 85 before Mists releases. I'll be leveling all 6 to 90, since I want all professions in play, but which one I raid on, which one I PvP on, I haven't decided. I'll probably continue LFR on my Hunter first, then my Pally tank and Priest healer, then my DK tank and Shammy Healer. I might have to run LFR's on my Rogue for a trinket or something, but I'm probably not going to raid much at all as a Rogue.

  My Druid and Warrior are both at level 44, and I'm seriously considering picking up an extra copy of WoW this week, and using RAF on both of them. It would go against my general rule of not paying anymore than $15 a month (Only other money I spent was on one name change).

  I've milled through most of my Whiptail, topping off my Ink stash of 1 Inscription bag of Shimmering, 1 bank tab (~653 glyphs worth) each of Midnight, Lion's, Jadefire and Celestial, 2 tabs of Ethereal, and a mailbox full of Ink of the Sea. I expect to maintain a full posting of glyphs through the pre-patch on into the start of Mists, enabling me to focus new herbs on new products, without having to trade down for a while. I expect my Ink of the Sea stash to last for months.

  For a couple of months now I've been buying cheap Truegold and Chaos Orbs off the Horde AH, flipping what I could for an average of 112g each Truegold and 35g each Orb. I'm left with a few stacks which are growing, and sales are thinning. I think people are finally dumping stock and stopping crafting. Both of these items will probably loose value for a few months as the overall stock dwindles, but the prices should come back up by January. At least they don't take up much room.

  I've also decided to change my alt plans and roll a Dwarf Warlock again. I feel that having only 3 Horde characters is OK, especially since they're Pally, Druid, and Monk (all Tauren). I'm not going to roll a non-Tauren just for the sake of having another Horde character, out of some sense of balance. I might reroll my Dwarf Mage as a Horde Pandaren, though. I'm not sure. I actually haven't tried them out at all, and the Beta is a black screen right now, so I can't login properly. As it stands now:

Alliance
85 Kalven -      Male Dwarf Hunter         
85 Kalare -       Female Human Priest
85 Kalmali -      Male Dwarf Death Knight
85 Kalyka -       Female Dwarf Shaman
73 Kalyssa -      Female Dwarf Rogue
44 Kalida -        Female Dwarf Warrior
15 Kaldwell -    Male Dwarf Mage (reroll Panderan?)
0   Kalister -      Male Dwarf Warlock

Horde
85 Kallahan -    Male Tauren Paladin
44 Kallonika -   Female Tauren Druid
0   Kallum -       Male Tauren Monk

P.S. I told myself I wouldn't do it, but I bought more Whiptail. There were over 650 stacks for less than 13g each. How could I not sweep them up?

A Rare Opportunity

  BigBearButt makes the case for having a more casual kind of fun with the game while in this part of the expansion cycle, and it caused me to reflect on how I myself am playing on live and in beta.

  On live, I've been running a few FL's with guildies, to get the last few legendaries. It's just challenging enough to feel like it isn't a waste of time, nevermind the gear. I agree, the more casual aspect of running older content allows one to really take in the whole show. Even when leveling now, I'm sort of shedding the urgency to earn XP, and instead gaining experience. Hmm, I'm going to have to muse on that a bit.

  I'll muse later, I have a point to make. This Beta is a once-in-an-expansion chance to try out other classes and races at level 85! It's been so much fun! I've rolled Tauren and Dwarf Monks, male and female, just to try out their casting and melee animations. I've rolled Troll Warlocks and Forsaken Mages, and no, I still can't get into Forsaken.

  So take this opportunity to try a new class/race/gender combination. I recommend melee female Dwarves, especially with a shield.

  Also, my new celebrity crush is Tyler Ward. His voice sounds like a flannel blanket feels.

My Hunter Keybinds

  Keybinds and macros set a foundation for executing a solid rotation, effective cooldown management, pet control, and CC usage. Without effective keybinds, abilities fall out of use. Without macros, actions become slow and cumbersome.

  I suspect most players keybinds are somewhat organic, in the sense that they add abilities as they level almost haphazardly. That can lead to very disorganized keybinds. A new expansion is a great time to reorganize keybinds purposefully. Innovating one's setup, especially after a year or more of playing one particular way, can be a daunting task, but I have occasionally made fundamental changes to my keybinds, and have found that it's like rearranging furniture, in that the new keybinds quickly become the new normal.

Darkmoon Card of Mists Trinkets

  I just noticed that the rewards for the Darkmoon Card of Mists decks are up on Wowhead. All but the tanking trinket have primary stats as both passive and as a proc. This makes them very potent indeed, and may be BIS for a few patches. It makes them a bit uninteresting, though.

  Another thing I notice is that they are Unique-Equipped: Darkmoon Card of the Mists (1). This just means that healers will have to choose either the Spirit or the Intellect option, and that Guardian Druids and Brewmaster Monks will have to choose either the Agility or the Dodge option.

  Also important to note is that these trinkets will not be available until Oct. 7th, when the first Darkmoon Faire of the expansion begins. That leaves 12 days in which to level up Inscription and start grinding out cards.

Stable Slots Going Into Mists

  I have 13 pets I absolutely refuse to abandon, for any reason. I also have the remaining 5 Spirit Beasts, which I am very averse to abandoning. Of the remaining 8 slots, 7 are filled with pets that each currently fill a buff slot.

Non-Negotiable Keepers:
1. Hobs - Cat (Mastery)
2. Aroo - Wolf (Crit)
3. Ed - Hyena (Attack Speed)
4. Berry -  Deth'tilac (Web)
5. Citrus - Solix (Web)
6. Aotona (Snatch)
7. Kalvenosaur - King Krush (Crit, MS)
8. SASI - Jadefang (Kings)
9. Leto - Grubthor (Burrow)
10. Warpaint - Ban'thalos (SB)
11. TOTHEGROUND - Ghostcrawler (SB)
12. PocketHeal - Loque'nahak (SB)
13. Skoll (SB)

Other Spirit Beasts:
14. Ankha
15. Arcturis
16. Gondria
17. Karoma
18. Magria

Negotiable Keepers:
19. Raphael - Terrorpene (Shell Shield)
20. Soap - Wind Serpent (8% Magic Damage)
21. Ripper - Raptor (12% Armor)
22. Ravager (4% Physical Damage) to be replaced with a boar
23. Beeblebrox - Core Hound (Ancient Hysteria)
24. Jitterbug - Silithid (Stamina)

Mists Needs:
1. Water Strider (Spell Power, Crit, Water Walk)
2. Quillen (Crit, Battle Rez)
3. Porcupine (AOE stun)

  So it looks like I have to abandon at least two pets to be able to pick up all three of the new pets I believe will be needed. Of the negotiable keepers, though, each one brings a necessary buff, hence the dilemma. I might have to let go of a few Spirit Beasts.

Search Terms That Led Here, 2

  I'm getting hits, yay me! Most traffic here is from Blessing of Kings, who has been doing TOR stuff. Some also comes from Darraxus who has been doing something called DayZ (sounds like a zombie thing). I have no idea about either of those things. I also get a little bit from World of Lae, who happens to be the answer to the first search listed. Some of it also comes from Google, and I'll treat search terms as a sort of Q and A: