No More Hero(ics) Anymore

Tell me I am not the only person getting royally pissed off in Heroics.

Once upon a time, back in those heady days post-Expansion launch, the Heroic was serious business. You needed planning, crowd control, extra buffs and friends who could spare the time to make sure when you walked into an Instance, you came out with the end boss loots. It wasn't about finishing in double quick time it was completing it at all. In the case of Oculus, for instance, it could mean four or five HOURS worth of effort.

What the Hell happened?

I don't even get the time to apply a foodbuff or summon a pet anymore. More often than not, as soon as I accept the queue and zone in the Tank has already begun pulling. There's very little buffing AT ALL until either someone dies or the first argument ensues about a) who wants what loot and b) what bosses can we concievably skip to speed up the process. I've seen what I can only call an exploit in the Old Kingdom that circumnavigates everything except the last boss. I hardly ever do the first boss in UP any more, or anyone except Brann and the last guy in the Halls of Stone. Making instances quicker has simply encouraged people to cut corners, which is all very well until any of the ICC 5 mans appear and frankly all Hell breaks loose. Success rate on the Halls of Reflection in a PuG is 10%, on a good day I'm the last one left as the bickering starts when we all wipe on the first boss and everyone blames everyone else.

Of course, when you get a good group they are normally spectacuarly so, but still no-one suggests a second instance, it's simply about getting the Frosties and buggering off. From the early days when the PuG was King, it's now all about doing Guild runs and speaking in disparaging tones about the quality of people Cross-Server. I bet everyone's just as belittling about each other...

How can this situation be improved? Put a gate outside the instance and give people a minute to stand and prepare a la BG's? Make it mandatory to kill every boss in the Instance in order to qualify for the Frosties from the last boss? Large rubber mallets that come out of your monitor and bash you over the head each time you argue over a boss to skip? I can only hope that Blizzard Towers is keeping a close eye on the dungeon stats and working out whose being smart and who's being an idiot when it comes to dungeon etiquette. What I will say however that having the Oculus pop up as an option will inevitably result in a 20 minute flawlessly issue-free instance. Everyone knows the quickest way to get in, grab their free booty and get the Hell out again. Ironically I feel this is the Instance model for the future. I would be rather afraid if I'm right...

Needless to say, I still run the odd PuG heroic early in the mornings, normally because the quality of player seems to be a lot better in the AM. Of course all that goes out the window on the Weeekends and during school holidays... but it's no fun anymore, it's a chore, or simply a way of getting Elbows, unless it's one of the ICC Three. The difference in quality and application required is noticable. Maybe instead of making the older 5 mans easier maybe Blizzard should have made them harder, so that people were forced to concentrate when doing them...

I used to like Heroics, now I find myself wishing there was another way.

Respect to the Hat

 

'Stand back luv, I'm in charge...'

Wearing The Hat, at least of late, is not commanding the same deal of respect as it once did.

That little crown next to your portrait, it used to mean you were the Raid or Party Leader. It meant you were looked at as the person to take the helm and steer your fellow adventurers to a successful instance experience. You were the one they would expect to know what to do, and if things went wrong you would be looked on to arbitrate and take the tough calls. Since Blizzard renamed the five man crown wearer as the 'Dungeon Guide' however, things seem to have gone a bit Pete Tong.
 
It's becoming very hard to work out who's really in charge. There are some who would argue that this is a good thing, giving anyone the ability to kick people if they go AFK for long periods of time or if they are Generally Stupid. Knowing the Instances backwards also helps, as let's face it we could all do most of the five mans in our sleep. The problem begins to manifest iteself as this attitude filters through to the 10 and 25 man PuGs for the instances with the Lewts that Start Fights. I'm hearing stories from Guildies of groups which seem, at least some of the time, to be propelled by mob rule. It started me thinking, what makes a decent Group to begin with? Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that you have five well geared people who know how to play and can bring the right qualities to an Instance. What is the dividing line between Suck and Win?

I feel, when all is said and done, it comes down to Respecting the Hat.

You can factor in communication, teamplay, moments of brilliance, selflessness... all those qualities come into play, especially as you move up to the bigger numbers of people. However, if the person leading you can't be fair, if they won't enforce the loot rules you all know exist (or in the case of PuG's ignore rolls and give the loot to your mates, or even yourself) it's just not going to happen. Having the Hat is serious business. I don't think enough people who begin raids consider this, especially in the PuG battlefield.

Last night I watched Hat Respect work in both 10 and 25 man situations, in both Guild and via a PuG. The VoA PuG worked as well as it did I think because the Hat Wearer was sensible enough to recruit his tanks and healers well before he began inviting the DPS. The Loot Rules were broadcast at the start, and the one person who didn't like them left before we'd engaged trash. He seeded the raid with no more than two of each class (or in the case of the druids and pallies of each spec). It began life as clearly an effort to be fair to as many people as possible. The DPS was stellar (as a happy bonus) with the top 10 (myself included \o/) not dipping below 6.5k. So really, it was never going to be a bad experience... but how was that achieved? Simple, the Guy with the Hat made sensible decisions and he was clear of his intentions from the outset. He set the rules. As a result, I find myself with a great deal of respect for him and the way he made it happen.

In our ICC10 last night we were given the task of dispatching the Rotten Frost Giant for the optional Weekly Quest. Boy, is he an annoying pain in the behind. However he was no match for the Guild's collective thinking and clever use of instance furniture. Last night made me feel proud to be GM, and to wear the Hat, as I watched 10 people work out the problem of dealing with his multiple (very annoying) abilities. For the record we split into groups of three leaving a single tank to biff the boss. When one person in the three was infected by the Deadly Mutation, someone else (not a healer if we had one in the group) would run out of the infection range and wait for the defubb to clear. That way we could make sure we could infect each other and never have an issue with the immunity timer. I made a conscious effort to pick a team that I knew would work well together, and to make sure as many people as possible who'd not had an ICC run lately got a chance at some Frosties. I think if you wear the hat you need to consider a lot of things to make sure the Instance works for as many people as possible. In the end last night I think we managed only a handful of DE's. People were happily passing loot to each other, there was never an atmosphere, even when we were struggling. It was possibly one of the best raids I've been a part of for some time.

There is another side to Wearing the Hat, especially in the Guild situation. Last night someone objected to not being picked, and to the choice of people I decided to take as a result. There have been an increasing number of incidents like this in the last few weeks, and it pains me greatly. We don't have enough people for 25 man ICC, so this means, at some point, some people will be disappointed. Some think the answer to this is to make a fuss, or even that if they come up with a clever enough theory they can argue themselves back into the running. I am grateful for those people who understand that if we ran the same 10 people though the instance every week we wouldn't have the Guild we currently reside in, but still people won't Respect the Hat. I've been called some pretty nasty things in the many years I've done the job of picking raids. People have tried to bribe me, they've threatened me... all because of a bunch of pixels. Such is the pull of this game.

When it comes down to it, someone has to make the call. It helps as a result if the person wearing the Hat when they do so is treated properly, that people understand that if you decide to take the job you should really be afforded some genuine gravitas for doing so. Blizzard's choice to remame the Leader as a Dungeon Guide in 5 man could be the start of a slippery slope, you know. We NEED Respect to the Hat, whatever size of party, because if if begins to wane it's going to send a signal to the PuGgers that you don't need to be nice to win, you just need to shout the loudest. Raid Leaders and GM's, you know what you need to do. Keep the Sanctity of Leadershop intact! Earn your places, and remember that with The Small Pointy Crown comes great responsibility. Save your power trips for your first person shooters.

Everyone should give Respect to the Hat.

Exploting a Loophole...

Yes, you know the one.

So, let me see if I have the timeframe right. They kill Arthas, then they get banned for exploiting.

How did Blizzard know?

Is it de rigeur for Blizz to go over every World First Combat Log? Do GM's sit and watch the kills from up high, popcorn in hand? If there were an exploit, would Blizzard even be aware that it existed until someone pointed it out to them?

Would it not make more sense that someone inside the Guild concerned might have had a pang of conscience and blown the whistle on a kill that people were aware at the time didn't feel right, but that they decided to go with anyway?

Does this sound like a more likely scenario?

Whatever happened, it's great theatre. Remember kids, it's only a game. You may lose as well as win...

New Kid on the Block

 

I have cracked 7000 Achievement points. I can has a shedload of new PvP Gears (thank you, saved honor and spare Triumph elbows!) Yesterday, ICC borkedness notwithstanding, was a pretty good day.

New PvP Boss: Drops 2 Frosties, iLevel 264 legs and hands, is worryingly easy if you remember that aoe can kill. He's also a fairly serious Gear Check on 25 Man. Our mage in ICC last night, who was topping the meters with 7k on trash, was refused entry to a PuG on the grounds that his gear 'didn't cut it' It is truly a strange Virtual world in which we inhabit. Oh yeah and the two Occulus achievements have been added to with Chaos Theory since I did the screenie. Heroics are now easier than Normals, it's official :p

Oh, and despite the broken nature of the 10 man, I have another upgrade. This is getting silly ^^

Behold the Bone Warden's Splitter. WTB a second for double 'worn on my back' coolness...

And He's DOWN!

Yes, that's the Crown of the Lich King. In shock news, yes he dies ^^ No more spoilers here, but needless to say, I wasn't wrong \o/

So, tomorrow is a new wing, Season 8, a 10% reduction in all PvP healing and no doubt a guaranteed 'Additional Instances cannot be launched' festival on my Server. What is more important to note is as of tomorrow, the next new content we will see is going to be Cataclysm.

Bring it on!

Looking Good!

It's the start of a new week. Time to take a look at how everyone in the Family is doing in Azeroth:

#1: Almost 7000 Achievement Points :D
#2: 'of the Nightfall ' Title. So what if it's two patches ago in terms of cutting edge!
#3: Rotface 0 :: Our Guild 1

It wasn't a clean kill, neither was it particuarly pretty. But it was a kill, after over two hours of people trying their best to remember the sheer number of things required to make it happen. In many respects this reminds me of the Shade of Aran in Karazhan: watch your feet, watch the boss, be ready to move, be ready to run, kite your slime, watch the pools... so much going on. My heart goes out to our Gnome DK Tank last night, who's kiting was nothing short of miraculous considering the utter chaos (and often stupidity) unfolding around him. Needless to say, Execution of Tactic Needs Werk ^^

Hopefully when we start again on Wednesday, we can do 6/12 bosses in a night. Halfway through, and Arthas appears in Europe that day. I'd better make sure I book us an Instance space early then...

Where's Me Shirt?

I was SO hoping this would happen, because if it did I got to use this mashup, which frankly is class. Snap vs Ken Dodd. Come on, half of you don't even know who Ken Dodd is, do you? *sigh*

So, last night in ICC10...

The only green quality shirt (that's not available via a trading card) dropped from Precious on our way to Festergut (4% at enrage, he'll be really dead on Sunday) I rolled a 94. I NEVER roll numbers like that. My Sleeveless T-Shirt has been donated to the Second Hunter. I get a brand new debuff \o/ The shirt looks pretty good on a dwarf as well:

Frankly, my luck with loot in ICC is coming close to the Stunning setting on the Lootmaster 9000: last night's additions included enough Elbows for a new piece of tier too \o/

I'll be off now to do my reading on Rotface, because we WILL BE KILLING HIM TOO on Sunday.... then it's on to Putricide! Hooray for progress, but more hoorays for Pink Shirts. As our guild tabard is pink... well... it really couldn't get much better than this :D

Best. Shirt. EVAH!

They're GIVING It Away!

Via WoW.com, news emerges that running Oculus suddenly became a lot more attractive.

The fact that Blizzard has felt fit to sweeten this instance even more after nerfing the Kahunas off of it when Icecrown launched is rather interesting. Clearly no-one likes it, this much remains apparent even post-nerf. Sticking stuff at the end boss may not be enough of an incentive, let's be honest, because you still have to ride the bloody dragons and use their abilities, and as is apparent to anyone who's PuG-ged Malygos for the Daily Raid achievement, some people just DON'T GET IT. It's not that they don't want to, they just CAN'T.

Next time I'd make the mechanics easier to grasp. The Gunship Battle for instance in ICC, there's a good use of a gimmick. The Dragons... FAIL.

Talking of which, Deathbringer Saufang to 8% at enrage last night. He is SO dead tomorrow. SO DEAD!

PS: ICC Bosses, please stop dropping plate. KKThxbaibai.