tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46287325114846179512024-02-08T02:56:53.438-08:00Kill that Warlock!A tale of two Locks - Horde and Alliance.... one PVP heavy and one PVE heavy.
2009 PVE build. Full set of Relic gear and twink enchants to destroy whatever comes along. New patch changes should make this an interesting climb.
2008 PvP Lock. The most wanted man in his bracket? Possibly. Flag returns? A good number. HK's? YEA. Killing Blows? A good number.
I'm just here to maximize pain and suffering. Anything else is just bonus.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-45236659233744383332011-01-21T09:09:00.000-08:002011-01-21T09:27:25.140-08:00Tough Going 80+ after releaseThere are alot of nasty nasty things with truly quick spawn times in the new Cataclysm zones. The water goblins and naga in Vash'ir or the twilight cultists and fire elementals in Hyjal. Both repop quickly and hit like a truck. I was getting beaten up.<br /><br /> Demonology spec helped. Crafted Emberweave helped. Getting out of my 200 iLevel gear helped. Apparently, my warlock was so far behind the curve, that the new expansion was daunting.<br /><br /> My hunter was Tier 10 and ate up the mobs. My Tier 10 Enhance shaman was nearly immortal and had a blast. My DK was beastly in Tier 10.5 and never stopped.<br /><br /> The lock? FAR FAR behind in gear. Almost a 100 points below Cataclysm quest rewards. I paid for that deficit with alot slower progression. Those of you who are making the jump from level 76 to level 80. Remember, gear gets a HUGE jump in Cataclysm but the difficulty has a HUGE hump as well.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-22329324355178540242009-10-09T06:03:00.000-07:002009-10-09T08:36:14.505-07:00Dailys give HOW much??The first two daily quests available to Alliance players in Northrend are commonly the pirate bombing run and the Dwarven excavation Air Support. They each reward 24k xp ( 26k with relic bonus ), a handful of gold, 250 Faction ( 275 if you're human ), and the excavation run gives two healing potions plus incidental loot.<br /><br />Arrg! Cluster bomb Again!!<br /><br />The goblin Zepplin captain ( Gotta love Led Zepp references! ) is being held prisoner at the Alliance fortress on the western edge of the Howling Fijord. He's not happy about it, but we alliance creeps get to ride around in a zepplin and drop bombs on scurvy pirates! Yarrr!! Lots o pirate love in that zone. Great job by the devs on plotline and interesting quests. Hint: Group up for this quest. Five individuals on the zepplin bombing the pirates = 5 people with 6hits each and 2 cannon kills. 1 group of players can get all 25 pirates and 10 cannons blown up with time to spare. If you're late and miss the zepplin, you can fly onto the platform. If you've missed the first ship, you may need to repeat the process. Also, if you're solo, you should be able to get line of sight and do the quest by yourself on one pass. Either way group up when you can. Don't be a douche-bag. Dead pirates and hand grenades. Come on! You'll wait at most 5 minutes for the zepplin to return. Easy money + XP.<br /><br /><br />Aerial Fire Support!<br /><br />The Dwarven excavation team is clearing the dig site for Northrend relics. Sjaberorn is sending stone gargoyles daily to disrupt the operation and kill the archeologists. You get to fly a roto-plane armed with machine guns and rocket salvos. Wooot! This plane handles like a dream. Hover, speed boost, and is very easy to master. There are 3 big buttons for god's sake! Machine gun, Rockets, and Boost. The machine gun is single target stream of low level damage. The rockets are awesome. They have a 5 second recharge, but they can hit multiple targets for multiple hits. I usually have a hard time killing gargoyles in the pit, chasing them down, and taking them out in classic dogfight combat. That's how the devs intended you to have fun in this encounter.<br /><br />Me?> I flew past the quarry and hovered as intercept near Sjaberon waiting for gargoyles. Two reasons: 1) The gargoyles come in waves and clusters. That makes the rockets much more effective. Tab target the gargoyle groups and you'll have a dozen of them aggroed and hovering. Just keep tabbing and gun them all down with rockets. 2) The gargoyles fall down in a VERY close pattern when they die. I just fly back to base when 8 of them have been killed. Usually when ALL of the wave is wiped out actually. Then I collect my quest reward and zoom back to the grassy clearing on the far side of the quarry. Littered in a neat little line of bodies is my loot from 12 dead gargoyles. In Total, it's over 1g of Shiny stone + the occasional green (blue) quality item from the haul. Not bad for 3 minutes of combat.<br /><br />Easy to knock out these every day until you hit 74. Then I'd go into sholzar basin and get busy with Nestingwary >> The Oracles >> The Lifewarden >> Icecrown. You'll easily make 3 levels in Sholzar Basin. Sholzar is a haven for Herbalism, Skinning, and Mining. There are a number of Rares as well as a ton of Lore and multiple daily quests. Your first two zones in Northrend should be preparing you for the trip to the Basin. A Flying book is just a shortcut to getting there earlier.<br />What Not to skin<br /><br />Note to the overconfidant newbies... Know your limitations on skinning. I hit the forward Argent Crusade camp in Icecrown and tried to kill the Lv 78 / Lv 79 spiders. They died allright. However, the Argent Crusaders will not give you quests unless you're level 77 or better. They also didn't want to heal/buff me, but they did assist sometimes. With enough +hit, I could apply DoTs and nuke down the Lv79 stuff. Stuff 6 levels above me, right?? Dam it's good to be a warlock. It did take longer than expected and multiple adds caused some problems. I couldn't regen enough mana to keep 100% efficiency and the spiders slowly chewed up my poor little Lv73 Voidwalker. His taunt was useless as well as his melee damage in keeping aggro.<br /><br />I got 10 mobs killed and skinned. Then decided this was a big uphill fight trying to "farm" red color mobs. I'd rather nuke a zillion green / yellow creatures than the long 1 on 1 fights. The xp actually works out better vs level 72-73 mobs. At level 80, this would be THE spot. Before then, it's just tough going.<br /><br />Stay outta Icecrown.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-71681203776558924192009-10-08T09:09:00.000-07:002009-10-08T10:13:03.243-07:00Northrend GrindingI was initially going to be casual with leveling my Relic-equipped warlock. Take things slow and tour around nuking things.<br /><br />Then I found out that I'm a demigod and nearly immortal compared to the squishyness of the other locks in greens and outland blues. I'm in Tier freakin 6 gear!! The rest is all Relic items. I'm using the Relic shoulders, Chest, Staff, and both trinkets. That puts me at a huge 126 Hit, 18% Crit, and 1026 Spell damage at level 70. Quite respectable. I was blowing up stuff in Nagrand. Multiple things and lifetapping / Haunting my way back to full health + full mana. Then moving onto the next pack of critters.<br /><br />Northrend.... Not much has changed. Just the xp amount went up to 1200 per mob. Taking on 6 to 10 at a time means some really fast fast levelling. I decided to quest thru some of Borean Tundra and then grnid up some of the Howling Fijord. I did get myself Northrend Flying at Level 71. That Account Bound book of Cold Weather Flying rocks. Sure I have 1000g to spend on flying. Can I skip waiting for level 77? Hells Yea!!<br /><br />Anyway. Got to 72 Tuesday after skinning + quest grinding. Then made 73 yesterday after more of the same. Vendoring all of the plate quest rewards that I'm getting. Gear is still superior to Northrend greens. Probably change out my outfit by level 75. Quests are giving 24k to 30k. Mobs are giving 1200 to 2400 xp per kill. Still Affliction spec is working out Very nicely.<br /><br />Why change a good thing? Not enough dps? I'm doing 1k dps to 8 mobs at once at level 72 and then skinning them for decent loot + enough shoveltusk meat to last me 10,000 years. I can't remember my wife's rogue doing that much at level 80 in 178 ilevel blues. I'll change out the relic gear once I get to 80 and replace with Lv 200 epics. Till then, the relic gear is a great investment. TTFN.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-15625239563310141402009-08-12T06:12:00.001-07:002009-08-12T06:29:06.115-07:00Heroic badge gear.Since I'm twinking my lock out with enchants and potions.... I may as well go all the way.<br /><br />Cashed in some heroic badges for the Relic spellcaster trinket, the Relic cloth shoulders, and the Relic staff. Those un-familiar with Relic gear... you trade a truckload of badges for a shiny beige colored magic item. This item is "Account bound" and can be freely emailed to ANY character on your server on your account. It's always level 1, so this limits the enchants one can place on it. The gear is also super-malleable. On a level 1 character, the staff would be +3 int +2 Sta and +1 spell power. On a level 80 character, the same staff would become +45 Int +40 Sta +95 spell power and +25 Crit rating. Nice eh? An item that levels with you!! The staff works for any Priest + Warlock + Druid + Mage and possibly Elemental Shaman twink you'd want to build.<br /><br /><br /><br />Still, I'll probably buy one more piece of Relic gear for my Shaman + Feral Druid + Rogue + Paladin. I'm thinking the mace since its gives a good melee boost at every level. Since my shaman does alot of melee. I can't help wanting a 1H + shield.<br /><br /> Why? My wife plays her mage kinda haphazard. I have a level 80 mage and you can do almost all of your fights without letting things get into melee range. Burnt to a crisp at my feet or sheeped and frozen several yards away. Melee is for Melee classes. Her? Different playstyle altogether. One quick blast to pull, and then she exchanges spells at point blank range. She'd be a good Warrior. It also makes her an odd Mage. When I step in to heal or nuke, it makes my Elemental shaman the tank + healer + nuker. THAT is a tough road to travel. I should switch to Enhancement spec and bulk up on armor. That way I can use the same play style and partner up better.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-44825182780288705262009-08-12T06:03:00.000-07:002009-08-12T06:11:44.050-07:00REBORN on the Alliance SideOkay. Playing a PvP Affliction lock on the horde side was hella fun. Heck, I can say I made a great bunch of friends playing there. But, life moves on and I'm doing more things with my kids and wife on our common Alliance server.<br /><br />Wednesday. Level 11 Warlock on Eonar. Since patch 3.2 came out they reduced mounts to 4g cost at level 20. That's just plain giving it way. They've also reduced Epic land mounts to level 40 and scaled back the level to learn flying to level 60. Rapid progression to 70? More lich king exposure?? Blizzard has to be up to something.<br /><br />That weekend I put my new lock thru 9 levels. The Deadmines were broken so I had to earn the flaming horse thru outdoor quests and just plain grinding mobs. Seems Naxxramas, Ulduar, and the Argent Tournament are the only instances that were working as intended. Daily Heroic instances in WotLK were broken. So was Shadowfang keep and Scholomance. The new patch was a bit much. Every major patch makes content inside instances unstable.<br /><br />More later. Got my Horse by Sunday.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-23675650353343291002008-04-04T10:57:00.001-07:002008-04-04T13:23:01.917-07:00Stupid Omen bugWhile running Underbog last night, we noticed a few problems.<br /><br />1) Only fools run instances or BGs on laptops. Sure, badmouth me if you have a new Top-o-the-line laptop that doesn't slow to a crawl in heavy traffic. In AV, I can honestly say I'm chasing ghosts. My laptop is a dog. Any Honorable kills are purely accidental. Don't trust it in tight spots where seconds = lives. Main healer on Tank against Prince Malechhazar? Yea. Dead man walking come phase 3.<br /><br />2) Omen was broke again. Yea I know. Check back every couple of minutes for an update patch to the patch. Still. That string of error messages was annoying. Also, where the Ruck is the minimize feature for Omen 2. Tell me Dat!<br /><br />3) No blue caster loot. Mail >> Plate >>> Leather.... End of instance. Not even any greens. The dice were surely against me. If it weren't for the 1UP mushroom and the Everlast Everspore Frond.. I'd say it was a wasted trip. Thankfully, I cleaned up in incidental loot, Sanguiine Hibiscus, Knothide Leather, and Admantite ore. Yay me!<br /><br /><br />/rant offDischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-1228322157843263222008-04-04T10:30:00.000-07:002008-04-04T10:43:07.598-07:00When I'm 64I love The Beatles.<br /><br />I also love being 64. Holy crap that was fast!!<br /><br />Blurred thru my 50's. They say that all xp is discounted 40% from level 20 to 60. They weren't kidding. Faction with Timbermaws was reduced by a whole step. Now you just need friendly for quests and within a couple turn ins, you're there. Ridiculously easy stuff. After felwood, I hit winterspring, Un-goro, Silithus, Winterspring, and found myself at level 58. <br /><br />Well... The outlands are too much of a temptation.<br /><br />I can say I should have held out at level 58, gotten my outlands gear, and pvp'ed my ass off. It was just TOO easy to make 58, 59, 60, 61, 62. Next thing I knew, I was in Zangarmarsh with a full quest log, a half dozen complete quests. All of my epic mount items, and looking for a team to do Dire Maul West.<br /><br />Dam that epic mount. Dam that crazy fast levelling in Hellfire Penninsula. I kid you not. I counted every kill I needed for every item upgrade and I couldn't STOP myself from making level 59 after the first few items.<br /><br />In my own defense, the Blue Quest chest-piece with 44 Spell Damage and 14 Spell crit is way overpowered. Especially since it has 18 STA and 13 INT. Add in a Knothide Armor kit, and you're golden. Now add the Destroyer's Mantle with +35 Spell damage, the Horde Only quest staff with +80 Spell damage, and a couple of other peices.<br /><br />I went from 2800 Hp and 2400 mana at level 56.... to a bestial 5600 HP and 5500 Mana at level 62 with +331 spell Damage. Now I'm rocking 7k health, 8K mana, and +500 spell damage at level 64. Bestial amounts of growth.<br /><br />There were 4 instance groups I did at 60, 62, 62, and 64. I had more HP than the tank and more Mana than the priest in every case. Sick amounts of upgrades available. All from quest gear and Sorceror items at the AH. Don't Enchant your gear, aside from Knothide Armor kits. +10 Spell crit to gloves was Too cheap to pass up. I had to get that.<br /><br />You'll make level 70 quickly.<br /><br />The next big jump is the blue gear from Durn / Ring of blood.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-57370597673941559362008-03-10T11:04:00.000-07:002008-04-04T10:30:12.450-07:00Level 50 WhammyFirst place I saw a level 40 Whammy ( level 40 Player in a 30-39 BG) was on the horde side for AB. There, a Horse was a big help in getting to the flag first and getting an early cap. That, and the other side SUCKING so badly. We mopped up with an early 1400 to 300 lead. After that, no advantage was gonna help them. It was in the bag.<br /><br />Next place was at level 50 by myself. This is how it works. Players level up from 20-26, or from 30-36 to get to that prime range for PvP. Being green and taking on Red or Skull level opponents is suicide in a battleground. It drags your team down. It helps the other side when they can 2 shot your frail ass. You WANT to be in the upper 3 levels of a 40-49 battleground. On your LAST que in that BG you want to be level 50. <br /><br />You join a battleground que. Do a turn in in Ogrimarr / Stormwind / or wherever. Level up. Train and put on your armor upgrades ( plate / Epic / whatever ). Then join the battle. I was throwing around my 41 point curse and destroying people who didn't see that I was level 50. 1500 points + Silence is just plain eeevil on a priest or druid. It hurts BAD. Even when it isn't cleansed off, that Unstable Curse hurts you.<br /><br />Was a fun time. We won the BG. Borat says it's "NICE SEXY TIME".<br /><br />Now the grind from 50-58.<br /><br />Can it be exponentially as fast??Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-11333510711663368332008-03-10T10:51:00.000-07:002008-04-04T08:49:33.633-07:00The well runneth dryNo more PVP at 48-49<br /><br />Well, that's all the honor I'm getting at level 48. Honor grinding in low levels is ridiculous. At the level 10-19 bracket, players get 1 honor per kill. At the end of the match, you get 12 honor for a win and 4 honor for a loss. Grind all day and you'll get 300 honor.<br /><br />At level 70, you get several hundred honor a match. Grind all day and you could reach the 20,000 honor cap. The numbers speak volumes. Sure there are Tier 6 geared players dominating Warsong. Sure the teams are deadly fast and vicious. Don't think that the PVP game is getting easier. Just the honor is getting easier. The rewards are getting easier. The Gladiator charity epics are getting easier.<br /><br />So? I'm taking the High Road at 70 and going my part.<br /><br />Sure I'll get eaten by the Level 70 Demigods of PvP. In time, I'll gear up and become one of them. Then it'll be an even exchange. I'm for that.<br /><br />Grind all day for a couple hundred honor? Meh. I'd rather explore all the rest that level 70 endgame has to offer. PvP, PvE, and the stuff in between.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-58491446996270892552008-03-10T09:15:00.000-07:002008-04-04T08:46:26.047-07:0048+ PvP grindIt's Not a grind. REALLY. It's fun. I can't say it isn't work.<br /><br />Alliance opponents at 48 are smarter, better geared, and MUCH better organized. In Warsong Gulch, we've lost a couple times in a row. Even been dominated by coordinated teams farming the Graveyard for HKs while 7 others hid in the flag room waiting on an attack. Meanwhile, Offense can't get thru the 10 Alliance guys farming midfield for honor.<br /><br />As far as AB goes, we win 75% of the matches. I've faced a few heavy hitters and taken a dirt nap, but that's been on those 5 on 2 assaults. Someone explain the fascination with taking the stables and leaving no one on Defense? If you can hem the Alliance into their GY and kill everything... Execute that plan. If you can't contain them, then dont' let a roaming pack of alliance get un-defended flags. The teams that coordinate defense WIN Arathi Basin. It's that simple. The "Zerg Reaction Force" isn't fast enough to re-take every flag. Even with mounts, you can't cross the battlefield and take the flag in 60 seconds.<br /><br /><u>AB By the Numbers</u><br /><br />Massive Offense takes flags. Solid small Defense wins the game. Keep 3 to a flag on 3 flags. That leaves 6 people as a Zerg reaction force to harass and kill any roaming Alliance players on the BG Leader's command. If you want to run it slim, Leave 2 to a flag and keep 9 people as a Zerg unit. That unit better be able to take a 4th cap and harass the last base constantly.<br /><br />Call em out. Two to Mines. Three from Stables to LM. One coming around LM to attack from behind. All these can be seen from the Blacksmith. Have a spotter. Keep a spotter at several locations. Rogues NEVER cross the whole battlefield in stealth. It takes too long. You'll normally see rogues + druids riding or running along before they hit your flag. They stealth up on the final approach. If you see a single shaman riding slowly, assume he has a rogue escort. Call them out.<br /><br />Survival. If a large stealth squad hits your flag, Call how many INC and hold your ground. Not dying and keeping them off the flag is just as important as killing your attackers. Buying time, lets the available support come to your rescue. If the team decides that they deserted Stables to attack you, then you keep the 9 guys busy while your squad caps their "old base". This makes a 1 for 1 trade. Shitty, but you're the one guy they're willing to sacrifice. The longer you can keep them feared / kited / busy... the more time they waste killing you. Hopefully, your squad is using that time to get somewhere.<br /><br />In Arathi Basin, it's all good. In Warsong, it's a toss up.<br /><br />Vent. Ventrillo and Teamspeak. Frikkin marvellous. Typing out commands is great for a slide-show. Headsets are like Blue-Ray DVDs. Your reaction time is instant. The team moves faster when it's a pre-made bunch of guildies. No one questions orders. Everyone works to keep their buddies alive alot harder than they would complete strangers. We're not there yet. Still stuck in the stone-age with pugs below level 70.<br /><br /><br /><u>Item buying.</u><br /><br />Get as many tokens as you can and buy your level pvp gear or the next level above you. This way, as soon as you hit 48 or 58, you have your set pieces. Then, you're playing with the bonus immediately. I have the level 48 belt. I bought the L58 Belt & Boots from Arathi Highlands once I had the tokens. Then I bought the level 48 staff. Keep in mind quest rewards near level 58. The 2H caster quest staff form Hellfire Penninsula blows many Molten core epics away. Don't bother with a level 58 staff or 1H item. The defiler Lv 60 shoulders are geat. The shoudlers are 40 tokens ( easy ) and 8600 Honor. Eeeesh. That's alot of God-dammed honor.<br /><br />The shoulders are great, but here's where logic goes astray. Level 58 Outlands greens are better than alot of level 60 Epic equipment. I may hold off on my 3rd set of Defiler's gear. It comes with a NICE +23 damage bonus being the 3rd piece. Still, there are some blue shoulders from Cenarion Expedition that rock socks for a long time. We'll see as we approach level 60. Let's grind out the 48s until the well runs dry.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-2700550536950797922008-03-10T09:07:00.000-07:002008-03-10T09:15:26.480-07:00Levelling thru 40Whirlwind fast.<br /><br />Getting from 40-48 was over in a heartbeat. That horse changes how you do things in HUGE ways. Distance to the next target, seconds now. Time between quest completion and returning to your quest giver, minutes. All this adds up to zero downtime.<br /><br />Affliction Warlock with Improved Life-Tap, Improved Life-drain, and Dark pact? Yea. Free mana forever. I only stop to loot, skin, and mine. THAT'S IT.<br /><br />As far as levelling up to 50 to get your felguard, meh. I'm sure its a powerful pet and able to crush foes with nary a thought. I still have two instant Fear spells, three Instant Dots, and 100% efficiency. I'm throwing away soul shards because I can't burn thru them fast enough.<br /><br />The Badlands. 6 quests inside an hour. Made 2 levels there.<br /><br />Fearalas. 3 quests .. Another level there.<br /><br />Arathi Highlands. 4 quests... Another level. <br /><br />I'm shipping materials and green items to my Level 10 warrior to put on the AH. WHY? His money is essentially mine. As a bonus, I don't have to return to a city, except to train. I just quickly log over and put up a stack of Iron ore, Mithril Bars, Mageweave, Coarse Stone, or some Gloves of the Eagle. A couple hours later, I log over, collect my gold, and keep grinding.<br /><br />At 48, I'm poised with a couple Arathi Basin upgrades to hit the PVP brackets again.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-64833860023579546242008-02-29T06:26:00.000-08:002008-02-29T06:36:47.196-08:00Flaming Death!!Okay, so the Warlock Lv40 mount isn't as monumental as it would appear. Still, you can't stare a gift-horse in the mouth. Especially mine! The push from level 38 to 40 took ONE gaming session. PvP time builds up lots of bonus XP. After facing twinked-out bloodthirsty Alliance killers, yetis and ogres were no match whatsoever. Okay, so I did get crushed by some ogres in the castle, but the respawn rate in Alterrac ruins was pretty nuts. Also, I was trying to blaze thru the castle without pausing to drink/eat to full mana. The quest was orange and intended for a group. Still, dying wasn't anything new to this warlock. As long as I accomplished the mission. I died trying to train out of the castle, btw. Not a smart plan. Just that anxiousness to get to level 40. <br /><br />Soon enough, I turned in the Crown of Will, 3 ogre heads, 1 human head, another ogre head, and some necklace for the final push to 40. A very grisly set of contents, but XP is XP. I can roleplay the Horde delivery boy.<br /><br />I could have gotten some more PVP in before hitting 40. Even some more tokens accumulated. But this dude is tired of walking. It's a free horse and the spurs cost me 55 silver + some time with a guildie.<br /><br />Now I'm riding in Style. The level 40 gear + Howl of Terror are a huge upgrade in PvE grinding. I also have Dark Pact for nearly unlimited mana. Gonna focus on level 40-48 grind now. 4000 Kills safely under my belt.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-70397670143580820922008-02-27T11:33:00.001-08:002008-02-29T06:39:09.709-08:00BracketsNow I should try to get as many tokens as possible before moving up to the next rank in the Battlegrounds. Level 48-49 players are a tough lot.<br /><br />Battleground difficultys change by level<br /><br />10-19 Twink Heavy<br /><br />20-29 Sparse ( AB Opens up )<br /><br />30-39 Twink Heavy<br /><br />40-49 Unknown<br /><br />50-59 Unknown ( AV Opens up )<br /><br />60-70 Top Bracket Very tough<br /><ul><li> T4-T6 sets being used by raiding guilds</li><li> S1-S3 Arena Sets used by full-time PVP players<br /></li></ul>Lv70 Arena Battles No room to hide. No room for slack. Vent + a very good partner. Resilience and Stamina are king here. Otherwise you are critted to death quickly. Fully geared Arena Players are deadly. Currently, I'm three bracket changes from the top end. Looking forward to seeing the stratosphere of the Horde side of PvP.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-91013971267825290972008-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:002008-02-27T11:33:05.136-08:003500 Kills -> 4k KillsYea. Back into the Lv38-40 bracket of PVP and the honor just flows like water.<br /><br />The opponents hit harder. The twink gear is much better ( lv 35 + for all your juicy Outlands enchants ), and the players are much more experienced. I've had shamen rip me apart with dual mongoose and executioner on their axes. Also, the feared rogue duo stun-lock me into oblivion. Even had a hunter and his pet gun me down with Intimidation to seal the deal.<br /><br />Dam I hate facing my own tactics for taking down a Warlock!<br /><br />On the plus side, the opponents are harder. The victories are better earned. The fights are longer and I have more opportunities to inflict casualties. Fear and loathing among the Alliance. Yea. I'm down with that. Facing superior foes that just neutralize the Horde in WSG? Yea, we have our bad days too. All rogues and no healers. What can ya say? You're doomed to turtle and wait for the end.<br /><br />Coordinating strikes in AB is also a great role that I get into. Not everyone listens, but I'm happy when ANYONE listens. As far as WSG, I'm willing to carry the flag and use potions to stay alive. I'll also escort someone else to the very end. I can jump into a crowd of enemy players to slow them down and give the FC time to escape. Fear and Curse of Exhaustion help lots.<br /><br />Gear update. Better gloves and a Silver Spellthread enchant on my new pants. That boosts my +Damage to +70 with a big pool of STA and INT. Enough to stand toe-to-toe with most players.<br /><br />Using a Spellthread enchant on legs makes your current gear MUCH better and the level 50 legs are only a few points better. So now the level 38 legs are set to last until lv 60 if needed.<br /><br />Warlock Lore: OMG the freaking Spellstone Love! The tooltip LIES!! The item says its equipped but I always assumed it was in the offhand. Being a big 2H staff user, it wasn't much use. Then I tried it and the stone replaced my wand. OMG yes. <br /><br />I had the Alliance flag and left the tunnel to face 6 casters that each put up 2 spells against me. In seconds I had 12 dots and no amount of heals would help me make it clear of the traffic jam. Click on the spellstone and POOF - I was debuff-free!<br /><br />Tactics change: Howl of Terror at level 40 is a skill that would DEFINE the PVP Affliction lock role. Too bad I'd have to leave my bracket and move up again. Still, the next tier does come with a Free Horse. Gotta love a quick ride with flaming hooves. Pimpin!Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-19418491410210085002008-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:002008-02-25T10:13:50.753-08:00Lv 38 and Back into BGsMade 38 in no time flat. Xp rest-bonus is huge when you leave Ogrimarr only to PVP. The rest of my Arathi Basin tokens and WSG tokens bought some nice gear upgrades. Still debating on spending a large chunk of money on the Spellthread enchant on some new pants. +25 to All Spells and +15 STA? Yea. That's worth it I guess. I'm just a cheap non-twink .<br /><br />All Twinked out? I'd have +20 Shadow dmg to gloves, Golden Spellthread, +30 Spell Damage to staff, and the finest gear known to man. Personally, I'm doing okay with my current gear. It wouldn't add more than +70 to my spell damage, but that's enough to kill a dude in some fights.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-16382526290562795162008-02-22T05:29:00.000-08:002008-02-22T07:35:27.591-08:00BG Combat MusingsDying in the Battlegrounds is expected.<br /><br />As a warlock, I'm not expecting a dedicated healer. Hell, if I get a renew or a druid heal over time (HoT) I'm doing handstands. My bandages, Food, and healthstone are enough to give me the time I need to do some damage, take a flag, or generally piss off the Alliance.<br /><br />You're GONNA die. Make no mistake. Before you go, I would suggest that you use your mana/health to eliminate enemy players, contribute to the success of your team, or distract as many players away from the flag as possible.<br /><br />Killing enemy players. DUH. Not my forte, but I've been known to put enough poisonous spells to ensure someone's demise. Usually, it's not so instant ( God bless Nightfall procs ), but enough to kill most players... even if they've killed me. That's revenge from beyond the grave.<br /><br />Success of the team. Slow spell on a rogue/warrior duo chasing a priest. Fear off a druid tank ripping up a hunter. None of these casts hurt anyone, but they help your squad secure a flag or someone live thru a fight. Heck, I've kited two players around the Lumbermill while the rest of my team 1) backstabbed them to death and 2) capped the LM flag while they chased a wounded warlock trying for an easy HK.<br /><br />Distraction. Smoke in the West, Fire in the East. Tsun Tsu and the Art of War. Look it up. GREAT Stuff. Written thousands of years ago by a Chineese thinker and still being taught at West Point.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-85689958741567574372008-02-21T11:31:00.001-08:002008-02-21T12:12:22.535-08:00Topping 2500When you've killed 2500 people in WOW, they don't give you a medal. They give you a hundred medals from two battlefields. I have alot of gear waiting for me at 38, and don't want to get burnt out on PVP before re-start grinding honor in earnest. So today I did the daily PVP quest, and began the slow march from 36 to the 38-39 bracket.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-34189044280081129662008-02-21T06:48:00.001-08:002008-02-21T11:30:52.830-08:00Cheating in ABArathi Basin at 30-39.<br /><br />The folks that prepare for the battleground bring potions, bandages, food, drink, and enchant their gear. As long as the enchants are under 20g total cost, you're considered golden for most engagements.<br /><br />For those that get themselves +150 Health to chest, Boar's Vitality to Boots, +18 STA to shield, Nethercleft Armor kits, and a host of other items... You're the ones cheating. There's being prepared and there's bringing nuclear weapons to a gunfight. Good team balance and skill can beat a team of super-powered rogues on most days.<br /><br />Factors that offset this huge advantage system? Certain enchants can ONLY be placed on characters over level 35. That mitigates how twinky you can get your character. Finally, the sheer number of abilities and powers available to all characters tends to neutralize the edge a level 19 twink can have versus a level 39 twink. <br /><br />Twinking guarantees that you won't be 2 shot by another twink. That being said, we had a person ding 40 upon zoning into AB and somehow got onto his horse during the fight. Having the only horse in a 30-39 battleground? Yea that's freakin Cheating.<br /><br />Since he was on our side, I'm thinking that's a 1 in 10,000 chance of occurrence. Let the man keep his horsey. I'm capping the Mines. We went onto win 730 to 2000 in AB. The horse wasn't that much of an edge. Just a nice bonus to have a quick response warrior.Dischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4628732511484617951.post-33876377565396333632008-02-20T09:20:00.000-08:002008-02-20T09:27:10.823-08:00More than a Talent ChoiceAffliction Warlocks are worlds more than just instant dots, long range curses, and annoyances on the battlefield. We're downright dangerous and very irritable.<br /><br />To that effect, I had an idea to start over on the Horde side after 4 years of Alliance toons with a blood Elf Affliction Warlock.<br /><br />A well timed curse can cripple a team. A well timed fear can neutralize a caster or stop a flag runner cold. Affliction spec lets you land spells with impunityDischordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09785698664129170429noreply@blogger.com0