Epic Freaking Win

So I got pugged into Contempt/Cloudy Day’s SSC/TK run tonight (thanks to Galistul!). They just needed to do Vashj in SSC…but omahgod, that is a FUN fight!! I was on Strider duty (first time doing the fight at all…), so it was pretty easy for me–was really an interesting fight though. Loved every minute of it.

Better than the fight itself, however, was the loot. Omg. [Cowl of Tirisfal]GET!!!!!!!

When we downed Al’ar, I died around 60% on his second life–sat for 8 minutes reading after I died, unfortunately, because mages don’t deserve brezzes. =)

Void Reaver was fun, and easy. Much easier than Al’ar!

Unfortunately did not get either the T5 shoulders or the wand from Solarian, but I’m ready to do Kael tomorrow! Very excited to be seeing this endgame content. It’s really cool to have almost every drop be an upgrade, too.

Much thanks again to Galistul, Cloudy Day, and Contempt for throwing me into T5 content.

So much for ZA this week….but I’ma try to get some guildies together tomorrow before I go back to TK!

OMG UPGRADE!

Well it has been an eventful first week of college. Fortunately I still had time to play WoW, as is obvious from my new loot from our near-successful Kara clear–the [Nathrezim Mindblade] from Prince. I didn’t get the HR wand that dropped, but it did help a member of our guild that really needed it, so I’m happy. =)

We’ve been working on gearing up a couple of our tanks recently so we won’t have to PUG tanks for Kara again–this week our pugged main tank didn’t have Omen, so things were a bit trickier than usual.

I’ve been getting a lot of gear upgrades recently, really happy about it. As far as I know, I’m gonna be running ZA tonight too. Very exciting!

I’ve also been down in SMV recently starting the Champion of the Naaru quest chain. Hoping to finish the heroics in the next week and then try to get into a Mag run. =)

Moving in

Well, getting settled in my dorm room was a lot less stressful than I had anticipated. There isn’t too much left for me to worry about–just need to find my classrooms before tomorrow. It looks like I should have plenty of free time, too, which is very nice.

Classes start tomorrow, and I’m a little nervous, yet excited at the same time. It’ll be a good experience, I’m sure, but I can’t help having a little anxiety–I’ve never done this before! =P

Sadly, Neo Imperela couldn’t do Gruul’s yesterday–we just didn’t have enough people to pull off the run. We had a tank shortage last night from what I hear and so did not do the second half of Kara this week either.

I’m gonna try and get in a PUG for ZA, or, best-case scenario, get a guild run started for it. =) Should be fun times!

Well…

I know I said I probably wouldn’t be blogging again till the end of the weekend, but I didn’t expect things to happen either. =(

My router broke, so I’m currently mooching off other people; currently I’m blogging from a local coffee shop. I’ll definitely be time limited for WoW; I’m hoping to find a temporary solution by Friday for the second half of Kara.

Secondly, (and everyone will like this more!) I’m now taking suggestions for blog columns! I’m willing to discuss any aspect of raids (to the best of my ability-remember, I’ve only really done Kara), magery (although I know much more about fire than I do anything else), and pretty much anything WoW-related that springs to mind. I’ll still write my normal blog columns, but if there’s something you’d like my take on, don’t hesitate to let me know; I’ll try to work something in!

A major trial

Well, I’m headed off to college this Saturday. Once I get there, I’ll hopefully get back into the swing of things quickly. I’ll try to keep this blog WoW-focused, but I may intersperse my posts with updates on RL stuff.

I’m raiding Kara this Wednesday and Friday–hoping to get all the badges I need so I can get my new boots before I leave for college. Hopefully I’ll be settled enough by Tuesday to participate in our first one-day Kara clear.

Haven’t actually packed for college yet, and it’s a 6-hour drive up–my current plan is to pack at about 11:30 Friday night, after Kara finishes. =)

I’ve gotten really good at doing dailies recently. Finished all my Isle dailies as well as a couple in HFP in about an hour–got the master cookbook too! Working towards skill 320 so I can cook [Poached Bluefish], my usual raid consumable. That should cut down on expenses–all I’ll have to pay for after that is my [Flask of Pure Death]/elixirs and my mana pots/Flame Caps.

I probably won’t be posting again till about Sunday or Monday. Until then, happy trails!

Kara strats

All three planned strategies are up! I’d appreciate reviews/links/comments on/to them!

Also, if anyone would like a strategy on another Kara boss or a specific situation (think Illhoof without a lock, or something, as a quick example) just let me know and I’ll get back to you with my take on it as soon as I can!

In terms of in-game news for me, I just got to Exalted with The Violet Eye! The [Violet Signet of the Archmage] is a great ring. Still looking for the [Nathrezim Mindblade] off Prince (won’t be getting it this week unfortunately) but I am closing in on the badge boots. Also thinking about picking up [Icon of the Silver Crescent] to replace [Quagmirran's Eye], any suggestions?

I’m gonna be headed off to college next week! Kind of excited but at the same time a little nervous. However I do think it will be a fun experience.

Boredom

I’ve been combating boredom occasionally in WoW recently. Mostly, it’s from doing mundane stuff like dailies; I still love raiding every week. The grind of getting gold/badges/whatever I need is really getting to me, though. That’s probably why I’ve been working on my alts so much.

Most noticeably (and distressingly, to me) is my reluctance to run many heroics. I’ve been getting pretty apathetic about them. I’m spending a lot more time QQing and a lot less time playing, but I think that’s unrelated…the heroics, on the other hand, are a bit disheartening.

Regardless, we’re starting Gruul’s in tandem with <Permafrost> on the 23rd of this month; unfortunately I’m going to be going up to college the same day, so I won’t be able to join the guild as we make our first attempt at 25-man raiding.

To combat boredom, I’m thinking about trying to pug ZA and Gruul’s during the coming week. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Please also note both my new Kara strategy and my request for feedback on my UI.

On a lighter note, I got my [Tormented Demonsoul Robes] earlier this week…and the epic gem/design vendor for SSO was finally forced open on our server by Blizzard! I spent over 300g today on gem recipes. The robes, of course, were badge robes–the best I’m gonna get for a long time.

Two weeks straight…

And this time we rocked Prince with a feral druid and 3 paladins. =) We just straight up pwn.

Got some new shoulders-[Mantle of the Mind Flayer] – and the [Uni-Mind Headdress] which will be nice for my HR. Still kinda want [Fel-Tinged Mantle] from H-MgT though–it’d help me a lot more than the Kara shoulders will.

Even so, I had a great run personally, and of course full-clearing 2 weeks in a row is nice for the guild as a whole. We’re starting Gruul’s at the end of this month, and until then I’m thinking about pugging it and Mag’s just to get a feel for it. There’s no way I can mage-tank, though–just not enough stamina atm. Hopefully Nathan’s got a set of greens, lol.

8/5/08: NEW NETHERSPITE STRAT UP! WITH PRETTY PICTURE! ZOMG CHECK IT OUT, 2 POSTS DOWN!

If my Kara strategies are coming in handy for you, let your friends and guildmates know where you got them! I <3 getting views!

Kara strats: NIGHTBANE

All right, here it is: the long-awaited Part Three of my series on Karazhan bosses! This time, we’ll look into what many consider the true final boss of Kara: the dreaded Nightbane.

Nightbane requires an urn to summon: you’ll need to kill Shade of Aran as well as getting some books from both Shattered Halls and Sethekk Halls in order to obtain the urn for yourself. If you’ve downed Prince, you’re probably ready to attempt this boss; if not, I suggest you wait, as Nightbane is much more difficult than Prince, especially if you’re using the Prince strat put forth earlier in this blog.

As usual, click on this image to view it!

Okay. So you’ve decided you’re ready to go. There are a few things you should know BEFORE you summon; first, get some priests in your group so that you have Fear Ward available: this is VERY necessary for a successful attempt. Keep Fear Ward up on the tank; once it’s used up after Nightbane fears, the tank needs to let the raid know so that another priest can FW him again.

The tank should be tanking NB with his back to the outside wall so that his breathing…attack…thing flies RIGHT OVER the tank’s head, leaving him unharmed! Melee DPS needs to watch out for NB’s tail swipe; it’s absolutely decimating. This means you can’t attack NB from directly behind.

Also, note the positioning of the groups. Group 1 (I prefer having healers stand here) needs to stand ON THE INSIDE WALL of the crescent-shaped terrace on which you’re fighting; Group 2 (ranged and spell DPS) should be ON THE OUTSIDE WALL. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, STAND IN THE MIDDLE. Why? Because occasionally NB will do this thing called Charred Earth, which you need to make sure your graphics options are turned up far enough to see. If you’re in Charred Earth, GET OUT. If you’re on the outside wall and Charred Earth gets put over there, run to the inside wall. Same thing if it’s on the inside wall. If both sides of the room get Charred Earth, move forward or back. Do not stand in the Charred Earth or in the middle of the terrace.

When NB gets to 75%, 50%, and 25%, he’ll go into an air phase. Don’t DPS him during this phase; his aggro table resets and the tank needs to pick him up easily. Misdirect can come in very handy if NB is MD’d onto the tank as he lands. As soon as he leaves the ground, everyone needs to run and stand on the tank. EVERYONE. Healers, DPS…no exceptions. NB will do this thing called Rain of Bones; once he starts that, you can spread out a little. Paladin tanks help here cause they can grab all the skeleton mobs that spawn: either AoE or single-target DPS them down. Once all the skeletons are dead, the raid needs to move back to its normal position for the ground phase. WAIT for the tank to pick up threat before DPS starts; 10k threat is probably appropriate if the tank was MD’d onto, and maybe 7-8k without a MD. Nothing changes between ground phases-the fight’s basically just rinse and repeat after you get through the first air phase.

If a healer goes down, they should be battle rezzed if you have a druid; if not, …good luck.

Charred Earth, Fears...everything you need to know!

Okay, in this picture you can see the Charred Earth to my right–please note you don’t have to be RIGHT ON the inside wall, since it restricts LoS, but you need to be as close as you can to it. Fears shouldn’t be a problem for the ranged groups, but do remember to keep Fear Ward up on the tank.

I’d post a loot picture, but I have so many screenshots in my WoW folder that they’re hard to find! Regardless, congrats on downing Nightbane!

As always, links to the strategies here as well as a mention of my blog if you used them is appreciated; in addition, comments on my UI would be nice.

Kara strats: NETHERSPITE

Okay, here we go. Part two of my series on Kara strats.

First off, go ahead and clear trash.

Then, get into Netherspite’s room. HUG THE RIGHT WALL! ZOMG DO IT!

Thirdly, wait for me to wake up tomorrow morning and write the next part of the strategy. ^^’

SUSPENSE!

EDIT: OK….I have an excuse…I’m drawing you all a nice pretty strategy picture in Microsoft Paint. Once I get it done…

K…sorry…internet issues. I got the picture done though!

ZOMG! NETHERSPITE'S ROOM! IN PAINT!

Okay, hopefully this is relatively clear. EVERYONE move into the room right now. Do it. Stay on the right wall. Don’t get off the right wall lest you aggro Netherspite and make everyone hate you.

So you’re all in the room now? Great! Got a lock? ….Just checking. Cause if you don’t, this fight will not be fun at all. Let me explain: those dots that you see on the picture are where portals will spawn. These portals shoot out beams that hit Netherspite and make him uber. You have to stick members of the raid in these beams. The tank will be dancing in and out of the red beam–5 seconds in the beam, 3 seconds out, 5 seconds in, 3 seconds out…and so on and so forth. As soon as the tank gets in the red beam for the first time, DPS full-out. Being in the red beam is automatic aggro. There are a couple strats for the green beam, but I suggest sticking your off-tank in there. MAKE SURE the green beam does not hit Netherspite as it can bring him back up to 100% health in no time at all. The blue beam should be taken…during the first portal phase…by your lock. Your lock should do nothing but slap Siphon Life on Netherspite and then spam Drain Life. That way the healers won’t have to worry about him.

Now if you don’t have a lock, things’ll be a bit different. You’ll have to have one DPS (preferably ranged) take the beam for 26 stacks of the debuff, full DPSing the whole time; have another DPS stand directly in front of him. If you’re the first DPSer, when you get 26 stacks of debuff, sidestep out of the beam. The next DPSer will take the rest of it automatically, since he should be standing there. Heals will be necessary on blue-beam DPS with this strategy.

As for the rest of your DPSers, they should be standing to the left and right of the blue beam. Not necessarily the portal, just the beam. This makes it easy for them to get into the windows in the next phase.

The colors of the dots in the picture show where each color portal will be in the FIRST portal phase, and only the first. The portals will change position with each new portal phase.

Even more importantly than keeping to the right as you enter the room, DON’T CUT BEHIND PEOPLE TAKING THE BEAMS. This will break their connection with the beam and make them unable to regain the beam; it will wipe a raid. If you need to get somewhere, run through Netherspite.

After a while in the beams, Netherspite will banish; everyone needs to run to the windows. Even the tanks. Because Netherspite will do this thing called Nether Breath that owns everyone. During this point the last thing you want is to have healing aggro; DO NOT MAKE HEALERS HEAL YOU! Bandage up! Get out your Heavy Netherweave Bandages and bandage as if your life depended on it!

Okay. If you have Deadly Boss Mods, 10 seconds before the banish phase is up, have the tanks run in. 5 seconds before, get the healers in, and when the timer expires, everyone run in. This time, the portals might be in different spots–don’t let that faze you. This time, make the OFF-TANK take the red beam, and the main tank take the green beam. OT should be doing the same thing as the MT did last time–5 seconds in, 3 seconds out.

Whoever’s taking the green beam should be hitting Netherspite too–with whatever they can. It’s probable that you’ll go over the enrage timer if this is your first try at Netherspite; get him down as low as you can before he enrages. Neo Imperela’s downed him twice, both times after he enraged.

Blue beam should be taken either by a 2nd lock or by 2 DPSers using the previously described strategy. Note that this can’t be the same 2 DPSers if you had no locks during the first portal phase.

Rinse, and repeat.

Only thing is to watch out for the Void Zones that periodically spawn! If one comes up under you, MOVE AWAY. If you’re taking a beam, DO NOT move sideways–move either forward or back. They deal massive damage, and the healers may not be able to heal through.

If a beam taker goes down, someone needs to step in for them immediately. Anyone can step in the green beam–it’ll drain mana pools, but that’s OK–but if the tank goes down in the red beam, get someone over there that can take hits before Netherspite decimates your whole raid.

With proper application of the above techniques, you should be okay! Good luck on Netherspite!

Stand here pre-fight

Banish phase. Run towards the windows. The blue aura around me is from taking a blue beam.

Grats on the kill! Watch out for lingering void zones.

I did scale down my images a bit.

What do you think of my UI? I asked before but didn’t really get any answers.

What a night!

Well, I went into Kara without having checked loot tables for the first time in weeks–figured the early bosses couldn’t possibly help me other than [Trial-Fire Leggings].

I was wrong.

After an unexpected wipe on Attumen and another wipe on respawned Attumen trash, we settled in and rocked through the first half of the instance, plus Nightbane (With 2 healers!) and Curator (Also with 2 healers!). When we downed Attumen, he dropped [Harbinger Bands]–an upgrade from a blue for me! I won the roll on ‘em, too. =) Opera also dropped my Trial-Fire Leggings–I won those too! Gonna end up saving me around 1500g – was planning to get [Spellstrike Pants] off AH if they didn’t drop. Planning to socket ‘em with [Veiled Noble Topaz] x3.

As an amusing side-note, Reanimator, Galistul, and I made a bet on Opera–20g each. I bet on Oz, and it was, in fact, Oz….so I’m up a good 40g from where I expected to be last night. =)

Netherspite strat later today.