TankSpot - Blogs - Warrior Over Time by Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/ en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:22:30 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.tankspot.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg TankSpot - Blogs - Warrior Over Time by Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/ Vision of Reality - Looking Back on Life http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1953-vision-reality-looking-back-life.html Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:34:36 GMT I used to think life was going to be a great, wonderful experience. It would be so great to be living out on my own—no school, no teachers, no parents. It would just be me, TV, music, and parties.

Then came real life. Paying hundreds of dollars on bills every month, driving a piece of crap truck, working 60+ hours a week, and not having high speed Internet or a camera cell phone because it's too expensive. Yeah, that's reality. Medical costs, insurance (health, dental, life, 401k/retirement deductions, social security, disability), a crap load of taxes so others can spend my hard-earned money, and purchasing gasoline which seems to keep rising (yet we're supposed to appreciate the fact they aren't gouging prices as bad as they were last year). Sounds like a lot of money going down the drain, right? That's because it is. That's life.

I didn't go to college straight out of high school because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Universities were out of the question, but a small technical college for computers would have been great. I wasn't ready, though. I was struggling in high school because I didn't pay attention. I was really immature and I couldn't get a driver's license due to poor eyesight. I wish I had went to college straight out of high school. It doesn't matter what one majors in, having that piece of paper gets your foot in almost every door imaginable. I didn't know that picking a major or a college was just a small step. I thought it would set me on an uncontrollable path which I could never change.

So I got eye surgery and can see. But man, am I blind or what? A year later, I was recovered completely and I got my license on the, "Yeah, I got this!" Nope. I failed the first time, but I got it the second time (don't ever look forward while moving in reverse).

My family was in disrepair. I stayed at home and helped my great grandmother, my grandfather, and eventually my grandmother get through strokes, cancer, and old age. Yeah, that's reality. So I got a job after one moved out, the other moved on, and one died. Six months later I ignored pleas to get health insurance privately because I wanted my company insurance and nothing could happen to me. I didn't want to pay what would be my one and only bill, other than car insurance, every month. I was stingy, but also proud—and I fell. Click here to see pictures of that story.

So I spent another year recovering from my disillusioned reality. Bedridden for seven months, I read a lot of books, watched a lot of behind-the-scenes material on DVDs, and enjoyed a wonderful summer view out of my window, watching the tree leaves sway in the wind for hours until falling asleep again. Sleeping away time.

So then after a second year getting mentally prepared and going through physical therapy, I spent three months finding another job. With only six months real work experience, and though I was an excellent worker receiving commendations and references, only three people bothered to give me a chance. Two of them called me in for training the next day, and two of them called me the next morning to let me know they changed their minds. They retracted their offer after having shook hands with me. That's reality, too.

I said there were three. The third one changed my life. I got hired, took state-mandated training and this time I paid attention. I paid attention so intently I got a headache each day from reading, listening, writing.

Today I've been working almost one year, with lots of responsibility and doing things most other employees don't even have a clue about. My boss constantly tells me how my performance is excellent. Our client's management team consistently compliment me on how professional I am. I'm half the age of everyone else and have learned nearly everything in less than a year. This is my turn at life.

I was recently informed I'm getting a raise, a raise larger than anyone else I'm working with. I'm also being moved to a weekday schedule. Though I am responsible for keeping weekend shift held together, I have become so valuable I am needed on weekdays for company image. However, no one is indispensable. Even though that is true there's no reason not to be happy. In fact, I must now work even harder to earn that pay. So this is life before 30. Quite different from what I could have ever dreamed.

Inveniam viam aut faciam. ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1953-vision-reality-looking-back-life.html <![CDATA[What's it take to be a great DPS?]]> http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1808-what-s-take-great-dps.html Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:21:17 GMT If you could recommend one piece of advice to a damage dealing class (DPS) in a group, what would it be? What does it take to be a good DPS?

I'm curious to learn what exactly your opinion on this subject is. Remember, keep it short and concise - I want the one thing which makes a good DPS stand out among the thousands. What is it? The way they carry themselves? Their methodical mindset which allows them to stay objective? What about initiative or valor? Are they passive or aggressive? Boring?

I'll start off.

I think it takes patience. Knowledge and understanding are great virtues, but experience and prowess comes from but the fruit of one simple tree: patience.

Your turn! ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1808-what-s-take-great-dps.html <![CDATA[Post-Patch Defense & Uncrittable Status]]> http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1405-post-patch-defense-uncrittable-status.html Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:08:48 GMT A lot of tanks are wondering what they can do to bridge the gap with the new Anticipation changes. This post is aimed at those players. This thread is adapted from my blog entry of the same title. Check it out for the full story!

My defense dropped to . . . What can I do to bridge the gap?

First of all, try hard to replace some of your gear. Hope you didn't throw away all those trinkets! Beyond trinkets (a list at the bottom) there are other ways such as enchants (also listed below). The first enchant to use if going that route is Enchant Chest - Defense. This is better than the others because pure health won't scale with most raid buffs or talents (such as Vitality or Blessing of Kings).

Is there any other way?

Resilience. Point for point, resilience rating increases your critical hit reduction by a greater amount than defense rating. The problem with resilience is that it does nothing else whereas the defense rating we lose equates to about a 2.44% loss in avoidance (dodge & parry combined) & chance to block.

How much resilience does it take to make up the lost defense?

The defense skill we lost was 20. That's about 48 defense rating which reduces chance to be critically hit by 0.8%. It would take about 32 resilience rating to achieve 0.8% critical hit reduction (with a little extra).

Is there any quick fix for us?

Merciless Gladiator's Shield Wall (for warriors) & Merciless Gladiator's Barrier/Redoubt (for paladins). These three shields are a great "quick fix" & for many players offer a humongous upgrade from Heroic/Karazhan gear.

The Shield Wall gives 31 resilience rating (0.79% critical hit reduction) & the twin shields for paladins give 27 resilience rating (0.69% critical hit reduction). Paladins will need at least 473 defense using the two Spell Power shields.

Trinkets & Enchants Mentioned
]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1405-post-patch-defense-uncrittable-status.html Controlling Crowd Control, part 2 http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1389-controlling-crowd-control-part-2.html Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:53:01 GMT Thunder Clap -> Defensive Stance are over, and a lot of players have either forgotten or never learned that we often Thunder Clap (especially early on). It's a great way to catch aggro on creatures who run by. I've even experienced mages who tried to sheep, in Heroics, while the creature was clearly standing inside of Consecration. After over a year of The Burning Crusade, it's time to learn about paladin tanking, too. *So pull back to avoid the sheep.* The problem is, a tank should always be pulling back. The sheep target shouldn't be able to really hit the tank because it should be sheeped, so why exactly do we need to pull back? Not all areas in the game have a large room to maneuver in. Start the sheep before it gets to the tank so it never gets near the group. Sheep pulling on non-critical fights is another option in many of these situations (make sure no creatures are near the sheep in case it breaks). A simple Bloodrage, Thunder Clap, or Shout will easily regain aggro of all the non-CC creatures. Paladins can taunt the creatures, or use Consecration, and druids can swipe or use a Roar. *Crowd Control sucks.* Wrong. Crowd control works wonders in new content or progressive content. Back in patch 2.0 & 2.1 groups were still doing regular dungeons & starting to tackle Heroics more often. Using crowd control to the point it made a tank healable allowed many players, myself included, to start playing in the big leagues without any special gear. The same trend will occur in Wrath of the Lich King & I will be sure not to push my healers too hard or stress them out. That's not going to help anyone. *Use Crowd Control, if you need it.* If the tank has things under control, forget about CC & just go with the flow. If something peels off, watch what the tank does. Is he paying attention? If not, obviously you should intervene to protect the healer. *Behave yourself!* Make sure you watch your aggro, throwing the tank for a loop because you wanted to impress your friends with damage meters doesn't help anyone. In fact, it causes a chain reaction on creature threat tables (especially for tanks still gearing up, so to speak).]]> It became apparent to me that a lot of players felt differently to my approach on the timing of crowd control. I am not a "CC-hater," so to speak. However, I do not particularly understand players who continue to use certain abilities even though it may not work or is blatantly unnecessary.

Yes, I broke your sheep.

So, you sheeped the unmarked elf in a 3-mob pull. Thanks, but really we are ok — we can survive it. Unless these creatures are heavy-hitters like the Destroyers in Heroic Ramparts, I really don't feel a need to worry about them. Beyond that, Mortal Strike is the least of my concern in that dungeon & I would prefer you sheep the creatures that Disarm instead.

This isn't rocket science.
I'm a big fan of Thunder Clap, always have been. The old days of Charge -> Thunder Clap -> Defensive Stance are over, and a lot of players have either forgotten or never learned that we often Thunder Clap (especially early on). It's a great way to catch aggro on creatures who run by. I've even experienced mages who tried to sheep, in Heroics, while the creature was clearly standing inside of Consecration. After over a year of The Burning Crusade, it's time to learn about paladin tanking, too.

So pull back to avoid the sheep.

The problem is, a tank should always be pulling back. The sheep target shouldn't be able to really hit the tank because it should be sheeped, so why exactly do we need to pull back? Not all areas in the game have a large room to maneuver in. Start the sheep before it gets to the tank so it never gets near the group. Sheep pulling on non-critical fights is another option in many of these situations (make sure no creatures are near the sheep in case it breaks). A simple Bloodrage, Thunder Clap, or Shout will easily regain aggro of all the non-CC creatures. Paladins can taunt the creatures, or use Consecration, and druids can swipe or use a Roar.

Crowd Control sucks.

Wrong. Crowd control works wonders in new content or progressive content. Back in patch 2.0 & 2.1 groups were still doing regular dungeons & starting to tackle Heroics more often. Using crowd control to the point it made a tank healable allowed many players, myself included, to start playing in the big leagues without any special gear. The same trend will occur in Wrath of the Lich King & I will be sure not to push my healers too hard or stress them out. That's not going to help anyone.

Use Crowd Control, if you need it.

If the tank has things under control, forget about CC & just go with the flow. If something peels off, watch what the tank does. Is he paying attention? If not, obviously you should intervene to protect the healer.

Behave yourself!

Make sure you watch your aggro, throwing the tank for a loop because you wanted to impress your friends with damage meters doesn't help anyone. In fact, it causes a chain reaction on creature threat tables (especially for tanks still gearing up, so to speak). ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1389-controlling-crowd-control-part-2.html Controlling the Crowd Control http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1384-controlling-crowd-control.html Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:49:50 GMT I recently read a post by my friend Veneretio which dealt with "The Druid Complex." The premise is that druids felt, and feel, the need to compensate for whatever reason. You can read his post, in its entirety, by going here.

So let's talk about crowd control.

As a seasoned tank, I no longer focus on excess crowd control. I prefer to have at least a rogue, hunter, or warlock in my group most of the time, but usually I'm more concerned with player competency than class ability.

It wasn't always like that, though. Back when The Burning Crusade was first released & groups were just learning the level 70 dungeons such as Shadow Labyrinth it was hard to find a good, hassle-free group. It wasn't unusual to ask for a mage, rogue, or hunter to at least have one form of crowd control for the large pulls. But for the budding tanks who were a step ahead, because we as tanks had to be, the numerous forms of crowd control available were as much nuisance as they were beneficial.

Players want to use crowd control.

Many players feel they have something to prove. Nothing brings out this feeling like that of a class which, in the mainstream mindframe, brings nothing to a group except damage. This occurs most frequently with rogues & hunters as they are very popular classes. Aside from dealing damage, what exactly are these players doing 90% of the time? Picking their nose? Clipping their toe nails?

Blizzard has taken care to help address these issues over the years. It affected me personally as my rogue saw several changes to Sap. It used to be that the ability would remove a rogue from Stealth. Only rogues with a few points in another talent tree could Sap & return to Stealth. That was changed to make it easier to obtain those talent points. Then the talent was removed completely & all rogues were given this ability. As for hunters, the trap cooldowns were changed, but they were also allowed to place traps during combat.

When players such as rogues & hunters join groups, they know that next to nothing is expected of them. They are high in supply & easily replaced. They are completely disposable.

I'm just trying to help!

So hunters often ask for a target icon to trap, rogues often go ahead & Sap if there are no icons. This comes from an overwhelming since of, just as Veneretio stated, insecurity. They know they are disposables deep, down inside & want desperately to show how great of a player they are. They want to contribute their portion to the group — to belong, to earn, to perform.

You don't always have to help.

Just do your job. That's all we want & if we need you, that's great! I'm glad you're a capable player who is willing to go above & beyond your calling. However, there is a time & place for everything. Let me do my job, and then you can better do yours without having to nullify the experience. For some tanks just want a big mobfest for the thrill of it all. For some tanks, there's nothing else left in this game.

Editor's note: Writing this post made me realize a very valuable lesson in real life at the workplace: just do your job, not everyone else's. ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1384-controlling-crowd-control.html Three Core Principles for Tanking in the Expansion http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1364-three-core-principles-tanking-expansion.html Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:49:18 GMT November 13.

The day everything you thought you knew changes. However, a few things shall remain the same. Let's go over a few things that we know so far:
  1. Gearing is important.
    It's beneficial to have at least two sets of gear with two different objectives in mind: survival & threat. This isn't going to change, read on.
  2. Tanking is tanking.
    The way we tank is changing, but it's the same game. Discipline your rotations, be aware of your surroundings, & learn the fights.
  3. Damage is threat. Threat isn't always damage.
    The past was about threat building, but damage dealing to create threat is the future. Class trademarks such as Shield Slam, Revenge, & Sunder Armor are here to stay.
]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/1364-three-core-principles-tanking-expansion.html <![CDATA[It's Official - Arideni is Back!]]> http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/980-s-official-arideni-back.html Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:54:22 GMT AP— It was a sunny day in eastern North Carolina today when Arideni officially announced he is coming out of retirement. The self-proclaimed "28k Underdog Champion of the World" closed a deal this week as his new system went online. The modest holdings from Asus & Intel along with networking by Trendware have made the seemingly long-lost player come back into the spotlight, if only for a glimpse.

"I want to remain low profile doing my work, helping others, & having a fun time [in-game]," he said in an exclusive interview earlier. "Sure, I can reach a lot of people online over the Intarnetz, but what I really want is to go back there - to go back to level 1 & do it all over again. I want to meet the people, shake their hands, & really get into things."

The timing couldn't be better with the official release of 2.4 not long ago. All of the latest Badge of Justice rewards are ripe for the picking, should he choose to take them.

"I'm not sure what my gameplan will be yet, or maybe I'm just not sure what to reveal, but I'm thinking about finishing my 29 warlock & shadow priest on Ravenholdt."

So while he has some plans, nothing is definitive yet. Indeed, it will likely be Monday or Tuesday next week before anything concrete hits the public. Certain things must be done before being "battle ready" such as obtaining the latest version of World of Warcraft (the latest full patch is a whopping ~920MB). "I don't even have the base game installed on my system yet, though I do have at least one game installed so far," he said about his arrival.

Apparently, a hot topic this week will be his system itself as it seems the ambient temperature inside his PC case is hitting 38C (100F) degrees. Certainly not suitable for today's Core 2 microprocessors.

Stay tuned for more late-breaking news as it becomes available! ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/980-s-official-arideni-back.html <![CDATA[Extra! Extra! Don't read about it!]]> http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/949-extra-extra-don-t-read-about.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:16:47 GMT Arideni Coming Back to World of Warcraft?

AP— This week in the news, former Hardcore-Casual Dial-up Champion of the World, Arideni, may be coming back to the game after all. Our sources are saying that it is very possible, at least for a short-term, the free agent will be back on the Illidan (US) realm assessing the current state of the game, working on the Auction House, & liquidating all assets in what appears to be a play to change servers. If this server change does happen, it isn't likely to result in a transfer.

Rumors have it the once-renowned player will be moving to a different PVP server, possibly Ravenholdt (where he holds a retired 29 twink warlock), in an attempt to level up to three new characters (supposedly the warlock, a shadow priest, & another rogue). Other reports are suggesting Arideni is simply rolling a new Alliance warrior & rogue (Human males) on the same Illidan (US) server. Even still, there are rumors that the Maelstrom server may be getting a visit before the year is out.

We do have actual confirmed reports indicating that Arideni has been offered lucrative tanking propositions on the Boulderfist (US) server. Many options remain on the table, but nothing is set in stone apparently. Arideni had no comment on this topic & our calls went unanswered.@ ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/949-extra-extra-don-t-read-about.html My Latest Project http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/823-my-latest-project.html Fri, 30 May 2008 04:05:05 GMT For those who have kept up with my blog, recall there was a little pet project which I started in the Wowhead Warrior forums, Topic of the Week.

Well, I woke up one day & got online to find the "big wigs" of Wowhead curious why it wasn't posted in the General forums. So, I explained my little project & it got approval! TOTW got endorsed!

So, now each week all of you can find a new, hot topic listed in the Wowhead General forums. I've actually gotten a little behind on them, as I started out with 5 topics in advance. I'm going week to week now, but it's keeping things lively. Well, one can only expect so much since I recently acquired a new job.

I hope to continue this project & garner more discussion on the TOTW subjects in the future. Right now, a lot of people are still unaware of this feature, so I'm probably going to ask for some pluggage from the brass. We shall see how it goes! ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/823-my-latest-project.html The Debate Over My Return http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/816-debate-over-my-return.html Mon, 26 May 2008 18:31:37 GMT So I was in a car accident in 2006. After 7 months of being vulnerable, lying in bed, I began to contemplate the reasons my computer, which had went "blank" two weeks before the accident, was on the fritz. I determined it to be the motherboard & contacted ASUS, a high quality manufacturer of computer components. They repaired the board for free & mailed it back to me from Kentucky (I only paid $10 USD shipping to them). It worked great once again (three years old at that time).

About a year later, it began having "problems" again. While I was finishing up my recovery from major back surgery (among other things), I played my original World of Warcraft account which I got in 2004. I raided with my rogue in ZG & AQ as broadband is unavailable to me. I also leveled up a paladin pre-The Burning Crusade with a friend (this is a tale for another day). My warrior was still in ZF at that time because I had always loved that instance -- something about facing a hundred trolls which makes you want to do it again & again.

Any time I wanted to tank a dungeon, I just hopped on my 45 warrior. She leveled up & my even-more-beloved dungeon, The Sunken Temple, was in sight. Eventually I leveled the warrior to 60, dinging 58, 59, & 60 in the same day back before the XP nerf. It was grand.

After reaching 70 on my rogue when TBC was released, I prompted started gathering gear & leveling engineering as well as questing for my epic flyer. When patch 2.1 came & the Netherdrakes were released, that was it! I went in with the initial rush, forgetting about my "connection" issues & said to Hell with it all! I was never happier. The amount of good times to be had by both Horde & Alliance (mind you, I played on a top-notch PVP server) was incredible. Through my reputation, I obtained many new friends on the opposite faction, many of whom would often Polymorph me so that I could continue grinding -- even at 1% health, I never feared running around the entire caves, searching for new mobs. I also got the same respect farming Primals in Netherstorm for my warrior's swords.

The point I'm trying to make is that the typical stereotype is that the "best PVE raiders" are snot-nosed jerks. Some can be, but in my experience, so are the worst players who think they're special in that "OMG BUBBLE!" guild with 500 members. The difference is that a true hardcore player is constantly busy, trying to make the best use of their time farming & preparing for the next raid, that it often looks as if they're neglecting the entire populace outside of their guild.

Anyways, eventually my PC started blanking out again, randomly. I eventually determined the cause to be the CPU socket, again. This time, I was able to reset the Heatsink & Fan unit on the CPU, unclamping it (therefore, increasing the relative heat on the CPU itself). At least it worked, for about 3 months. It currently sits here, unable to stay on for more than 30 seconds before freezing with a faulty motherboard, almost 2 years out of warranty & probably suffering multiple hairline fractures.

In the meantime, after a couple weeks of "I give up" I decided that I would find a way to fix it, no matter what. Well, I didn't fix it & still believe it impossible to fix without expert repair, but I did drag an old HP Pavilion 8655C box out of my closet, hooked it up to my other computer's power supply unit (PSU) & voila! I have a Pentium III running at 535Mhz & PC100 memory, lol. I can use the Internet & Notepad++, so I don't worry. It also has a GeForce 2 MX400 64MB PCI card & an Aureal Vortex riser card (the one that lets you hair AWPs across the map in Counterstrike).

What am I doing today?

I am a moderator for the database website Wowhead. I really love working there, but I have always ended my job hunter & am now working. I was surprised to find an extra check for about one week (my training session in the capital city) in my mailbox the other day. Needless to say, it's going to help me build my funds again.

The debate comes when I realize I have several priorities & almost none of them are leisure. Health insurance, vehicle insurance, & medical bills. On top of that, I need a dental (should come with benefits on my job) as well as another car, in case my pickup goes kaput.

I'm looking at something in the $4000 USD range at the moment, as they really aren't bad investments as long as you know what you're doing. Asides from that, the state auctions usually have excellent vehicles (from impound, etc.). It would be a great backup, =)

What will it take to return?

At the moment, because my Pentium 4 machine is from '03, it is slightly outdated in that I can't find new full-size motherboards. The only one available I have found is a mini & it requires DDR2 (which I don't currently use) & PCI Express graphics (I'm on AGP, arg).

That means I'll need about $300 USD in upgrades plus another PSU to get my normal machine working & keep my current old machine working. Woohoo! Not.

For $300 USD, I may as well save another paycheck & just build a dual core system, forgetting the other one altogether. Or should I? The P4 machine works great, just needs a motherboard (which apparently means I'll need to upgrade the RAM & Gfx card for compatibility).

This is the great debate: a) build an entirely new PC which will blow the socks off my old one or b) repair the P4 machine.


P4 Machine Specs
Intel Pentium 4 2.4C Ghz
Kingston HyperX DDR400 1GB
ASUS P4C800 Deluxe UAY Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 80GB HDD SATA 1.0


]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/816-debate-over-my-return.html Confession of a Newbie http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/654-confession-newbie.html Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:04:03 GMT I have always enjoyed pick-up groups. I remember when I was first getting into the game, back in 2004 & early 2005. Of course, my server -- Illidan (US) -- was only accessible about 12 hours a day (1 hour of that was queue times), but it was well worth the wait. Logging in, doing a few quests, checking out the (broken & incomplete) village of Nighthaven, I realized there was more to the game.

A friend escorted me from Auberdine, through Menethil & over to Ironforge & Stormwind. Making the trek through Menethil, guided by a level 20-something paladin was quite the adventure.

So, upon my eventual arrival in Westfall, there was an incessant calling -- "LFG VC...LFM VC / Deadmines!" After questing & leveling a few times, I eventually picked up on enough General chat to guide my intuition -- it was an instance. The very things I had been awaiting from the manual, a chance to play with other players & experience what a real MMO was all about.

Having come from Star Wars Galaxies, I wasn't used to raiding, at least not on my low-speed Internet connection. Nevertheless, the game played very well & performed better than many overcrowded areas in SWG. So I offered my services, guided by my good friend, Xanthes*, and proceeded to "heal" my first dungeon.

Our group had a mage, named Ruby, as well as 3 other members (whose names I cannot recall). I did my job, and did it well...

I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! This game sure is a lot cooler than SWG was...I think I'll just let it expire, forget my Jedi ambitions!" -- and good thing, too for the "New Game Experience" followed a month later in SWG; essentially, replacing all the hard-worked characters with "archetypes" or "icons" -- any player could start the game as any class, e.g. a Jedi. Gone was all the hard-work required, and millions of Quenker grinds...

From the first sign of trouble at the Goblin platform in the smelting room, to the pirate's cove where Mr. Smite tried his best, I was constantly impressed. Eventually, we came to a large, overweight goblin named Captain Greenskin. Of course, I healed this & we survived, only to have a real dilemma: Who gets to roll on the rare blue caster staff?

This is where I admit my first & truly most innocent mistake of the game: I thought the staff was awesome, but downplayed it based on it's DPS. Little did I know, those stats did not matter in bear form. Needless to say, when I won the roll from the mage I immediately felt guilty for having taken the staff, which the mage specifically wanted, stating that druids didn't need intellect.

Of course, at that stage of the game druids were in fact very poorly designed. The Feral talents were all, but a joke after 11 points & both Balance & Restoration were lackluster (many of the now commonplace abilities which druids have were at one time, talents). So, there we have it -- the confession of a newbie, long overdue. Maybe now I can finally put this behind me.

Would it have bothered you?

*Xanthes, last I saw, still played on Illidan(US), but the person with the account is at least the third owner, gogo e-bay. ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/654-confession-newbie.html My Latest Project http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/640-my-latest-project.html Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:34:03 GMT EDIT: I am currently working with the Wowhead staff. This new venture may or may not come to fruition on April 21 -- stay tuned for updates in other blogs later this week.
TOTW - Topic of the Week
In the coming week, starting April 21, I will be starting an open discussion on the Wowhead Warrior Forums. While it may come as no surprise to active Wowheads there, I enjoy conversation. Even more, I enjoy watching others converse. In the spirit of an inciteful discussion, brought to us by Uricidea (of the Wowhead forums), I have decided to launch this discussion.

I will be giving all readers one week to think & form a reply. All replies must contain around 150 characters, or about 30 words as a minimum. In addition, there must be no personal replies or flames -- all responses should be directed toward the original post (effectively the "topic").

My own replies, thoughts & feelings, will be posted to this blog (under the "Topic of the Week" tag). While I will keep as much bias to my own personal blog, there will be corrections or mediation for the discussions. My job is to mediate & promote meaningful discussion on thought-provoking subject matters.

I have chosen to take this concept to the warrior forums because I am convinced that the experienced, mature community there can thoughtfully hold communication open & abide by the guidelines set forth. While I would love to also further the column in the future to the General forums, I believe that it would detract from my normal duties in the warrior forums (helping those who ask questions & reviewing talent builds & gear selections).

If this project takes off, then it will be a great undertaking on my part, requiring a weekly deadline & commitment. While I am not officially sanctioned by Wowhead, I do fully believe I will -- after proving the weekly topic a success -- gain approval from the administration team. I would love nothing more than to be able to contribute to their projects in any way possible in order to further the player community.

So, tune in next Monday, April 21 (US Eastern), for our first topic discussion - Mitigation vs. Avoidance.

EDIT: If you have a hot topic or issue that just drives you insane in-game, let me know! There are several ways to contact me, including private messages or emails. Don't hesitate!

Note: This topic is geared towards tanking aspects of warriors, but may apply to other tanks as well (probably not druids). In the future, more varied topics such as PVP & the state of the game will be covered. ]]> Arideni http://www.tankspot.com/forums/blogs/arideni/640-my-latest-project.html