Double Sun POWER!

Hooray, first raid today! I log in at 11:55am, planning to say something to the effect of "Heh, you guys thought I forgot, didn't ya?" and then the band would play... but no. The login servers have different plans for me (possibly others, I have no way of knowing right now).

So while I try to figure out what's going on I shall distract you with this:

-Ahzae, Lord of the Trifling Gnome

Harms Way vs Freestate, a la West Side Story

As far as guilds go, I'm of the opinion that we're one of the more musical types. Aside from the near constant Rocky Horror jokes, we tend to talk quite a lot about the music we listen to.

In a (possibly vain) attempt to share our wonderful musical tastes, I'm going to put up a few of the tracks I listen to regularly while WoWing, and give everyone a chance to show off theirs:

General music:

• Home by Freestate
• Almost anything by Mr Voletron (has one NSFW track, you'll see it :P)
• Schubert's Ellens dritter Gesang (Opera)
• The Gregory Brothers (Auto-tuning goodness)
• Sweeney Todd soundtrack
• Effington's dulcet tones (if I can find a link for these I'll put them up)
  
  

PvP tracks:

• Witchcraft/Propane Nightmares by Pendulum
• Love Love Nightmare (Vocaloid insanity)
• Switchback by Celldweller (Electro-metal, one-man-band from hell)

Of course this is just a small sample of what I listen to and yes, I realise my taste in music borders on insanity. Personally I find it interesting to know what other people listen to, and it's a great way to discover new things you wouldn't have normally heard of (Celldweller was a good example of that for me).

Recently we were serenaded over vent by the incredible Effington and his magical guitar. We may have to shackle him to one of the channels and get him to play into it 24/7.

Now, it's your turn. Share your musical preferences in the comments below so we can all get a taste of what you're into!

Oh, one last thing (I was once a huge Columbo fan): I've been toying with the idea of a Harms Way theme, a track that we can call "our" song/anthem - purely for the giggles of course. If anyone wants to put some ideas out there I'm sure we'd be quite keen to see them. There may even be some sort of prize or other niceties should someone find something really good...


Although, if Freestate releases a song called Harms Way then they win instantly *not-so-subtle nudge*


-Ahzae, Lord of the Trifling Gnome

Heroics too hard, eh?

Long post warning!

As I mentioned previously, our first raid is coming up on Saturday the 8th. There seemed to be some uncertainty as to where we should start; Some people say Blackwing Descent is the best place to begin, others say Bastion of Twilight or Throne of the Four Winds and so on.

So I did some research and was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of mechanics in each encounter. Every raid boss is much more complex than you expect - thought Putricide was complicated? You haven't seen anything yet...

Video contains NSFW language.

Click through to read on.

"You no take credit!" + Raid Reminder

The talented Sporran recently contributed a terrific guest post for us and it appears that his post was mistaken for one of mine (not sure if that's flattering for me or insulting  to him, but anywho...)

From now on I'll do more to introduce any special guests we may have, instead of sneakily trying to take the credit for their work. While we're on the subject, if anyone wants to contribute a post, article or guide (or anything really) to the blog then either contact me in-game or via email at tobiasmasters@gmail.com.

Finally, a quick reminder for the raid scheduled for Saturday at midday: There are quite a few people vying for a spot and, while we normally work on a first-come/first-served basis, those who have done their homework on the encounters or have spent some time getting their gear in order will likely be favoured over those who haven't.


Being the inclusive people we are, we'll do everything in our power to make sure that those who miss out get a chance, but that doesn't mean we're going to carry you either. Of course, if you need help with getting prepared then please feel free to ask us :P


-Ahzae, Lord of the Trifling Gnome

MTC Monday: Katinalus

Like a brick through the delicate window that is your New Year's hangover, it's Meet The Crew Monday! This week we have Katinalus, one of the best paladin tanks I've ever seen:

Katinalus of Silvermoon

Blood Elf Paladin

(Protection)
 
Location:

Perth, Australia

Age:

29
 
Likes:

Helping others, seeing new content and exploring. Kat enjoys tanking for guildies a lot and leading a group to victory, especially for encounters they are still learning. She also likes coming up with some very wacky jokes that no one bar her (probably) understands.
 
Dislikes:

PVP!... No not dislikes.... Detests PVP. Oh and the usual assortment of gnomes, elitists and other basement dwelling organisms who inhabit the game in large numbers.
 

Katinalus has always been a protector, though not so much for her horde allies as she is for anyone in need. She is staunchly against the ongoing conflict between the horde and the alliance, and had assisted Tirion Fordring in setting up the Argent Tournament, hoping that by turning the warring factions against a common enemy that they might find peace.

The tournament did nothing to quell the rising tensions and Katinalus, dismayed but not defeated, joined Harms Way as counsel, working with Ahzae in an attempt to steer the horde away from the path of war.

Now, with the emergence of Deathwing, Katinalus is on a campaign to get the two factions to recognise that the real threat to Azeroth is not each other. Should they fail to realise this soon, then all might be lost.

Of course, such a task will not be easy for her to accomplish. There are many who would stand in her way, not the least of which being the horde’s new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream; Effectively her warchief. If this war is to end then he would need to be dealt with – and if she has to sacrifice her life to save the lives of many, then she will gladly do so...

In the small moments where Kat is not carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, she finds peace in her home city of Silvermoon relaxing with her Siamese cat, Avalon, or getting Camberon and Razia to help cover up her battle scars - Even after a battle, a girl has to look good, you know?


I should probably go now - apparently I'm in trouble for smashing some windows. Watch this space next week for more MTC!

So you hate PvP...

For as long as I can remember in WoW, dungeons and raids have commanded a much higher level of interest among players than battlegrounds and arenas. Blizzard themselves were largely responsible for this in the earlier days - battlegrounds were long and inconvenient to queue for, rewarded no gold or experience and tended to attract elite (read: e-peen) players. As for arenas - if you were a casual player, forget it. They were intimidating, crushing and slightly mysterious places best to be avoided.

Thanks to many improvements in game design, PvP is now a less gruelling and much more rewarding experience, but enthusiasm for it has nonetheless been slow to spread among the player base.

For me, PvP is one of the most fun, varied and exciting parts of WoW, and I would like nothing more than to see as much interest within our guild for PvP as there is for dungeons and raiding. To that end, I'm going to spearhead an effort to get things moving, beginning with the following tips to having fun in PvP...

1. Teamwork wins every time

The key to having fun in PvP, like so much in WoW, is good teamwork. We all know how frustrating pick-up dungeon groups can be. In battlegrounds, having 10, 15 or even 40 or more random players can make things chaotic, rageful and depressing. But even a small amount of co-ordination and team spirit can turn things around. This can be as simple as keeping an eye on the chat, calling out when things get hairy and being ready to go where needed when called in return.

Such little things can make the difference between wall-to-wall fail to wipe-the-floor-with-them fun. And let's face it, there are few things more enjoyable than wiping clumps of gnome off your sword, sending your pet raptor in to claw off someone's face, or turn someone into a penguin and watch them waddle around ineffectually while you capture the flag from right under their nose.

We have a guild full of great players who regularly group up together and are used to each other's play style. We have a guild culture that rewards people who are patient, willing to help others and willing to learn. We even have Vent. We could be SO GOOD at this! *drools a little*

2. Every match is different

With dungeons and raiding, there's a tendency to hit upon a preferred strategy that works and then use it every time. While there are definitely good tactics to follow in battlegrounds, you are playing against real people not NPCs, so there is always an element of the unpredictable (with the possible exception of Horde zerg rushes in Alterac Valley). Not knowing what to do in a battleground can make people a little ill-at-ease and can be especially demoralising if spend most of your matches chatting up the Spirit Healer.

Advice? PvP is less about damage rotation and more about cunning. Experiment. Be a pest. Use those crowd control spells and interrupts and hotbar those weird abilities you never use. Find a healer to keep you alive long enough to put a dent in someone's day. If you are a healer, make a damn nuisance of yourself. Whatever your role, be prepared to go with the flow and do whatever you can and whatever it takes to help your team win.

3. Getting good gear is easy

There are two stats that matter in PvP, both for gear and for attitude. They are stamina and resilience. The more of both, the better. Happily, getting decent gear is neither difficult nor time-consuming. Every match you play earns you honor points whether you win or lose, though the winning side gets roughly twice as much honor. With a winning ratio of 50%, you can expect to play roughly 10 matches to afford 1 piece of gear. Play the crazy-go-nuts Tol Barad battleground and things will move even faster.

In short, there's no excuse not to at least consider making PvP a part of your recommended daily intake of WoW. What's more, to help people get over their inhibitions and have a chance to learn the mechanics of the different battleground maps without getting picked off by hunters, mashed into a fine paste by bladestorming warriors or pack-raped by rogues, I will be running a series of guild war games.

These are basically practice matches where we can safely play against other guild members without fear or reprisal or ridicule. Check the calendar to sign up for the next event! My Earthbind Totem and I will see you there...

Rover Gets the Pill...

I was going to post a rather large rant about the fact that the date today is 1/1/11 and went googling for a picture of the number one. So, to Google Images I went and innocently searched for "one"... the picture below is what came up:

My virgin eyes!

This picture has scarred me in some way - not exactly sure how yet, but I'm certain this is one of those traumas that will resurface during hypnotic regression therapy or an exorcism. Being the generous sort of chap that I am, I felt compelled to share this visual injustice with you all. In any case, the "one" rant was derailed, sparing you from further horror.


We have our first raid of the year scheduled for the 8th of January at midday, so make sure you check your calendars!


Remember to be nice and have fun this year!


-Ahzae, Lord of the Trifling Gnome