Found it!
Here you go.
Time for Plague wing dps DK optimization!
As you know, my personal rule is to only blog on maximizing performance when I have at least a couple kills under my belt. I HAVE been able to kill Putri's pets, the putrescent Rotface and Festergut a good number of times now, so you get to hear about them!
Both of these bosses have different challenges that may pose different difficulties for various guilds, but I'll pick Festergut for now, as this the one Insomnia has had the easiest time with.
Festergut is essentially a tank and spank fight, with fairly tight dps requirements. If your guild doesn't have full T9 with some Icecrown gear, it may be difficult to complete the encounter in time.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Rotface: a DPS DK Perspective
I wrote draft posts about Rotface/Festergut while I was in AK, but I can't seem to find Festergut! If I can find it, I'll post it, otherwise I'll have to re-write it.
In any case:
Boss #2 in Plague wing is here for all you dps DK min/maxers!
I've now had the opportunity to not just kill Rotface and Festergut a few times, we did manage to kill the Professor as well, so his 'guide' will be out shortly, along with Blood Princes who've also bitten the dust a few times for my guild (several kills now since I wrote this - along with Valithria but not BQL or Sind/Arthas yet).
Rotface has less dps/gear requirements than Festergut, but has considerably more coordination required, and has been killed by fewer guilds on most servers.
In any case:
Boss #2 in Plague wing is here for all you dps DK min/maxers!
I've now had the opportunity to not just kill Rotface and Festergut a few times, we did manage to kill the Professor as well, so his 'guide' will be out shortly, along with Blood Princes who've also bitten the dust a few times for my guild (several kills now since I wrote this - along with Valithria but not BQL or Sind/Arthas yet).
Rotface has less dps/gear requirements than Festergut, but has considerably more coordination required, and has been killed by fewer guilds on most servers.
Out of Hibernation
Wow!
(and that's not short for World of Warcraft).
Sorry folks for disappearing the past few weeks during my trip.
The dynamics of my location/times/work/etc weren't conducive to blogging. I was able to do some raiding, but generally after work/exercise/dinner with colleagues, I only had time to do my in-game stuff and then bed before the grind started over.
Strange how being in a hotel next to work, away from family and other stuff, it seemed I had less free time, not more.
In any case, apologies to all, and to anyone who's still stopping by, I do have a couple of my traditional 'DK optimization' posts ready to roll and a few other ideas in my head, so I'll be posting those soon.
Oh, and one other comment. I just realized my last post was #100! Today certainly isn't the day for a milestone post, maybe later. ;)
Anyway, it's good to be back home!
(and that's not short for World of Warcraft).
Sorry folks for disappearing the past few weeks during my trip.
The dynamics of my location/times/work/etc weren't conducive to blogging. I was able to do some raiding, but generally after work/exercise/dinner with colleagues, I only had time to do my in-game stuff and then bed before the grind started over.
Strange how being in a hotel next to work, away from family and other stuff, it seemed I had less free time, not more.
In any case, apologies to all, and to anyone who's still stopping by, I do have a couple of my traditional 'DK optimization' posts ready to roll and a few other ideas in my head, so I'll be posting those soon.
Oh, and one other comment. I just realized my last post was #100! Today certainly isn't the day for a milestone post, maybe later. ;)
Anyway, it's good to be back home!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Winter Wonderland
I've learned how to walk in the -10F weather by now - it's really not too bad actually. The snow and ice are generally quite crunchy and make sounds like broken glass with every step. I've gotten better at ducking my chin deep into my coat and breathing through my mouth. But woe is me when I forget and breathe through my exposed nose! It's quite a sensation for the cold weather noob to have one's nostrils insta-freeze.
My eyes water a lot normally, so stepping into the cold means I have to blink constantly to keep my eyelids from freezing together. Each foray outside is an adventure. Fortunately, my hotel and the building I'm working at are only about 200 yards apart, so a brisk walk to and from is all it takes. People naturally take everything in stride, bundling up routinely before walking outside, and plugging in their cars before entering a building. I look forward to seeing people walking in shorts when the temperature soars to a balmy +10 F.
And it is beautiful here. While the sun is only 'up' for about 90 minutes, there is about 4.5 hours of sunrise/sunset with the sun just below the horizon and the southern sky lit up in gorgeous hues of rose and magenta. Aurora hasn't shown herself yet, but I look forward to making her acquaintance. And of course everything is white.
Unfortunately for me, I brought an incipient bug with me and the shock to my immune system upon arrival was enough to make me miserable the past couple days. Iím clawing my way back now, while still trying to fulfill the mission my employer sent me to do. I hope there's lots of xp and maybe a little gold in it for me at the end.
The best news is my connection is good enough to raid, so I'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly. Thanks to the well-wishers for my journey.
My eyes water a lot normally, so stepping into the cold means I have to blink constantly to keep my eyelids from freezing together. Each foray outside is an adventure. Fortunately, my hotel and the building I'm working at are only about 200 yards apart, so a brisk walk to and from is all it takes. People naturally take everything in stride, bundling up routinely before walking outside, and plugging in their cars before entering a building. I look forward to seeing people walking in shorts when the temperature soars to a balmy +10 F.
And it is beautiful here. While the sun is only 'up' for about 90 minutes, there is about 4.5 hours of sunrise/sunset with the sun just below the horizon and the southern sky lit up in gorgeous hues of rose and magenta. Aurora hasn't shown herself yet, but I look forward to making her acquaintance. And of course everything is white.
Unfortunately for me, I brought an incipient bug with me and the shock to my immune system upon arrival was enough to make me miserable the past couple days. Iím clawing my way back now, while still trying to fulfill the mission my employer sent me to do. I hope there's lots of xp and maybe a little gold in it for me at the end.
The best news is my connection is good enough to raid, so I'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly. Thanks to the well-wishers for my journey.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Jet Plane
In a few minutes I leave for the frozen North. My daughter asked if I'll be at the Antarctic.... nope, only Fairbanks, although I guess it's pretty close! ;P
Hotel connections are notorious for introducing lag spikes that make raiding untenable, so I may spend lots of time .... writing... or at least farming for my primordial saronite. 18 down, 7 to go for my Shadow's Edge, which will be funded entirely by personal gold. Ugh, I'm no Marcko or Gevlon, so it's a little tedious heh.
I'll try to write from the frozen North!
Hotel connections are notorious for introducing lag spikes that make raiding untenable, so I may spend lots of time .... writing... or at least farming for my primordial saronite. 18 down, 7 to go for my Shadow's Edge, which will be funded entirely by personal gold. Ugh, I'm no Marcko or Gevlon, so it's a little tedious heh.
I'll try to write from the frozen North!
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Worthy Opponent
I'm pleased to see that Blizzard has not nerfed Putricide yet as I predicted.
On the other hand, they've made it known that their way of allowing 'everyone' to see the content is to do something better: buff us. For years, Blizzard has nerfed bosses days or weeks or months into progression to allow the non-world-class the opportunity to kill the big bad bosses they took the time to create for us. This time around, we're apparently scheduled to get the assistance of the Ashen Verdict who will provide assistance in taking down bosses as the weeks go by.
Functionally this means that normal mode will get easier and easier as the weeks go by. Stuck on Saurfang and only dreaming of wing #2? Never fear! Soon you'll be able to smite him with one blow! :)
Rumor has it that heroic modes will not benefit from the progressive buffs and will have the increased difficulty we've come to know and love.
The good news for ICC so far though, is this: Putricide is NOT easy mode. Some guilds are stuck on Deathwhisper, or struggling with Saurfang, but a very large percentage of 'serious' guilds easily defeated the first wing well before the second was released. This has not happened with Putricide. Sure, if we'd all had more than 20 attempts, many more guilds would have accomplished the feat, but overall the fight presents a challenge we haven't seen since Ulduar.
We've had 20 attempts on him and the best I've seen is a wipe on the enrage timer in P3. We've learned the fight mechanics, managed the oozes well, but balancing that with dps on the boss.... and it's actually a challenge! Sure, some high level guilds did him in quickly, but that's a small percentage. For the rest of us, it requires us to step up our performance in order to succeed. I had an amazing time last night, running around chasing oozes, dodging various burbly messes, and trying to hit the bald guy from time to time.
While some are saying it's not Ulduar, I say, It's full of win! Good Game, Blizzard. Good Game.
On the other hand, they've made it known that their way of allowing 'everyone' to see the content is to do something better: buff us. For years, Blizzard has nerfed bosses days or weeks or months into progression to allow the non-world-class the opportunity to kill the big bad bosses they took the time to create for us. This time around, we're apparently scheduled to get the assistance of the Ashen Verdict who will provide assistance in taking down bosses as the weeks go by.
Functionally this means that normal mode will get easier and easier as the weeks go by. Stuck on Saurfang and only dreaming of wing #2? Never fear! Soon you'll be able to smite him with one blow! :)
Rumor has it that heroic modes will not benefit from the progressive buffs and will have the increased difficulty we've come to know and love.
The good news for ICC so far though, is this: Putricide is NOT easy mode. Some guilds are stuck on Deathwhisper, or struggling with Saurfang, but a very large percentage of 'serious' guilds easily defeated the first wing well before the second was released. This has not happened with Putricide. Sure, if we'd all had more than 20 attempts, many more guilds would have accomplished the feat, but overall the fight presents a challenge we haven't seen since Ulduar.
We've had 20 attempts on him and the best I've seen is a wipe on the enrage timer in P3. We've learned the fight mechanics, managed the oozes well, but balancing that with dps on the boss.... and it's actually a challenge! Sure, some high level guilds did him in quickly, but that's a small percentage. For the rest of us, it requires us to step up our performance in order to succeed. I had an amazing time last night, running around chasing oozes, dodging various burbly messes, and trying to hit the bald guy from time to time.
While some are saying it's not Ulduar, I say, It's full of win! Good Game, Blizzard. Good Game.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
No more sleepless nights
Or perhaps should I say, "many more Insomnia nights!"
I'm a lucky guy.
It was a little time in coming, but I did resolve the guild situation and am happily settling in with Insomnia (see, I even updated my 'about the author' from looking for guild to in the guild Insomnia.
Already, I've made good progress in my New Wow's Resolutions. I'm in a 10-man group that's well-established and should be able to make good progress through Icecrown. I want my Starcaller title, and that may some time in coming, but I did get to complete the Yogg-Saron fight, leaving only Algalon and Heroic Anub'arak as uncompleted fights pre-Icecrown. I picked up Festergut's acidic blood and should get Rotface's tonight as well. leaving me just a few primordial saronite short of Shadow's Edge. Yes, that's a long way from Shadowmourne (expecially as a nub in my current guild) but it's progress!
Most importantly, I'm fulfilling #7 on the list - having tons of fun!
One such fun event occurred while I was implementing my new ui.
(and since this turned into a longish story, click to see the rest)
I'm a lucky guy.
It was a little time in coming, but I did resolve the guild situation and am happily settling in with Insomnia (see, I even updated my 'about the author' from looking for guild to in the guild Insomnia.
Already, I've made good progress in my New Wow's Resolutions. I'm in a 10-man group that's well-established and should be able to make good progress through Icecrown. I want my Starcaller title, and that may some time in coming, but I did get to complete the Yogg-Saron fight, leaving only Algalon and Heroic Anub'arak as uncompleted fights pre-Icecrown. I picked up Festergut's acidic blood and should get Rotface's tonight as well. leaving me just a few primordial saronite short of Shadow's Edge. Yes, that's a long way from Shadowmourne (expecially as a nub in my current guild) but it's progress!
Most importantly, I'm fulfilling #7 on the list - having tons of fun!
One such fun event occurred while I was implementing my new ui.
(and since this turned into a longish story, click to see the rest)
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