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Posts with tag serpentshrine-caverns

When your fearless leader hasn't played your class

Back when I first started tanking 5-mans, there was a particular hunter who pulled off me with irritating regularity. This was partly because the early Druid tanking set at 70 is itemized more for mitigation than threat generation, but partly because he was a young guy, he was good dps, and he knew it. MM-specced Hunters actually do have a lot of control over mobs that get pulled off the tank, and I suspect on some level he made a game out of seeing just how long he could lock something down while the exasperated tank turned her attention elsewhere, usually after bellowing at him in party chat to "DISENGAGE! FEIGN DEATH! DISENGAGE!"

Not having played a Hunter at that point, I had a fuzzy notion that Disengage somehow reduced threat and was highly affronted at any hunter with aggro spikes who wasn't using Feign Death over and over again. After starting to level a hunter alt, it quickly became apparent that: a). Disengage was a melee-only skill that still had to "hit" the mob, and b). Feign Death wasn't exactly a spammable ability and could be resisted no matter what you did. I am by no means an expert hunter player, but I have at least learned to bellow, "FEIGN DEATH ON COOLDOWN!" if they're not trapping (and just minding my own business if they are).

I am still occasionally reminded of my days as a backseat hunter, and never more so than while listening to my GM trying to figure out what's gone wrong in a raid.

Continue reading When your fearless leader hasn't played your class

Around Azeroth: The blind chair


Player Kyprianos of the Icecrown server was in Serpentshrine Cavern with his guild Indecisive after their very first kill of Leotheras the Blind. After being forced to "face his inner demon" by the Blood Elf Demon Hunter, Kyp decided to take a breather in Leo's chair. But shouldn't there be two seats?

Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. No, really. Ok, only if it's a sunrise in new Patch 2.4 lands. We'll take those anytime. Oh, and no more shots of Omen killed in Ogrimmar. It's cool, we get it. A lot of it.

Gallery: Around Azeroth


BigRedKitty: Ask not what your raid can do for you


Back from a firewall and Dr.Pepper addiction-induced hiatus, Daniel Howell is back to contribute BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary.

It is with no small sense of happiness that BRK returns to WoW Insider. We're thrilled that the executive muckity-mucks haven't nuked our account here into oblivion and that the editorial staff are being so kind as to help get these columns published. Without them, we wouldn't be back.

As such, please direct all flames and hate email to their in-boxes, comprende? Sweet.

(For those who've never read our posts here or on our personal blog, please note that we use use plural pronoun to refer to ourself. Why? Because we believe that the hunter and pet are One. That's just how we roll; don't panic.)

Let's let the bells ring and the banners fly! Roll out the carpet and bring out the champagne! Let's start the first new column with an email question.

"Dear BRK, a month ago the raid leader told me my DPS was too low for the exploratory raid into Serpentshrine Cavern. Since then, I have converted to BRK BM spec, am topping the DPS meters for our hunters, am generally within the top three or four for the raid, and seeing lots of SSC. Woot and thank you so much!

"I am seeing a big variation in DPS from boss to boss though, where my DPS can go from 900 to 1200, and I am not entirely clear on why. Part of it may be inconsistency in shot rotation and using my trinkets and such, but I wonder if a big chunk of it is from the group I get put in for that boss.

"For Hydross and Morogrim I am doing a total of 900-1000, with Bloodlust, my cat, doing 300 of it. Lurker Below is crappy DPS because I can't get Bloodlust to attack him no way no how. That all makes sense.

"We got moved to different groups for Karathress and suddenly I am up to 1200dps total, and Bloodlust is doing 500dps of it. Wow! How can I get more of that!

"Checking the buffs on my pet for that fight, it looks like I was grouped with a feral druid and an enhancement shammy. Can the presence of specific class/spec combos in my raid group make that big a difference in my pet's DPS?

"Do you have some guide somewhere on which class/specs help our DPS? Thanks, Kiya and Bloodlust."

Bluntly Kiya, no we don't. And for good reason.

Continue reading BigRedKitty: Ask not what your raid can do for you

Around Azeroth: Everyone has to sleep


Silverbolt of Malygos was preparing to take down Leotheras the Blind in Serpentshrine Cavern when he noticed these bunk beds, nestled in a cobweb-filled corner. Says Silver, "The Broken in the room holding Leo captive apparently sleep in bunk beds during their downtime!" But, really, here at WoW Insider, despite the fact that we run on a 24-hour schedule of playing, researching, and writing fueled entirely by Red Bull, we recognize the fact that everyone has to sleep sometime!


Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Guildwatch: Worth every wipe


Week after week, you crash your head up against the wall on a certain boss. It takes time for people to show up for raids, and it takes even more time for people to release, come back, and rez after a wipe. Repair bills go up, raid attendance goes down, tempers flare, guild chat becomes awkward, and GMotD's get harsher and harsher. And then, one day, it all fits. That pull goes perfectly, everyone hits their marks ahead of time, and before long, you're looking at a dead boss and a window full of loot. "Worth every wipe"? It doesn't seem like it some times, but it is.

This week's GW starts right after the jump. Be sure to send your downed, drama, and recruiting tips to wowguildwatch@gmail.com!

Continue reading Guildwatch: Worth every wipe


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