On Writing, Blogging, and Burning-Out

Christmas and the New Year holiday and festivities are officially over, regardless of the themed header still up or the mini christmas tree on my nightstand (What?!? It’s just so pretty!).  I guess I can’t put this post off any longer, and trust me I’ve been putting it off for quite a while.  I would just disguise my inability to write as “the business of the holidays” or “needing to get back into a routine”.   What “inspired” me, I don’t even know if inspired is the proper word to use here or not, anyway…. There are two bloggers who made me actually face what was going on and made me actually see where I was headed.

First of them is Saga from Spellbound.  Her post, “The Honesty Clause” brought to light there standards that I was and still am playing in.  Bucklers of Swash once was a great raiding guild.  We had 2 group running ICC at its peak.  One group was even throughly entrenched in hardmodes.  Once Cataclysm was released we started to spiral downward.  We we’re down to one group raiding irregularly, we were having a hard time recruiting on our dying server of Mug’thol.  It looked like we were down and out.  I guess you could say this all started happening when our Guild leader and his wife had a baby.    They tried to run the guild but it was just too much for them.  Both have full-time teaching jobs, running a large guild, and a new baby.  Something had to give and you guys can guess which.  I can’t and don’t blame them for leaving but around the time they did is when everything went to shit.

I do give mad props to the very fancy lady who stepped in, she was our 2nd guildleader I guess you could say.  She was always in charge of the bank and of recruiting.  Now she and a long time officer in our guild stepped up to run our guild.  We were doing great after we server transferred, from Mug’thol to Bleeding Hollow.  We got a solid raiding group together to run firelands (6/7 before 4.3 came out).  Everything was going great till this holiday season.  The new guild leader, the long time officer, said he rather a sci-fi MMO to a fantasy one so he is entrenched in SW:ToR, is he coming back? No idea.  We barely have anyone login anymore.  Without raiding there just isn’t a real reason for me to login anymore.  I mean sure there’s LFR, randoms, and alts but it’s not the same without that core group of people cracking each other up in vent every other night.  There’s no mention of starting raids back up on the guild forums and everyone I ask has no idea what’s going on.   Is this the end of my guild?  I sure hope not, I’ve played with them for 3 years.  I’d be lost looking for a new home.  Primarily the only reason I log in now-a-days is to do my argent tourney dailies.  Yeah, that’s right to do level 80 dailies to get heirlooms for my paladin.  Which at the rate things are going, is going to be pointless.  Which brings me to the next blogger.

Vidyala from Manalicious, recently wrote the post, “Business Time, Hard Modes, and the “C” Word“  I was reading this post late one night, sitting in my dorm room when three lines she wrote really hit me.

“Was I spending too much time on what is, ultimately, a video game? “

“Did I want this to be such a major feature of my life?”

“ Could I reinvest my energy in another area?”

I started playing this game in 2006, I got hooked, I was addicted.  My parents (I was 13 at the time) had to set up parental controls just so I wouldn’t spend all day and half the night on it.  I obviously figured out the password and hacked in and set the hours to my choosing (and still do) but that is totally besides the point.  I’ve been playing this game for almost 6 years, and no other game has caught my eye.  That’s like a freakin’ marriage, and a god damn faithful one at that!  I got Skyrim for Christmas which might be leading to the burn out but I have a feeling that it isn’t so much burning out as it is a realization.  A few things you have to know about me is that I’m in my first year of University, studying up to be a doctor (that’s the plan anyway).  Here’s the kicker, I was unsure of becoming a doctor because of all the crazy, unpredictable hours they work.  It’s not what your thinking, I can assure you.  I was worried that my schedule wouldn’t let me raid.  That’s right.  I was unsure of going into a profession that requires 4 years of high school to apply for 4 years of university, so I could apply for 4 years of medical school, so that I can apply for a 5 year internship (I want to be a surgeon) so I can then do a fellowship for however many years, so then I can do 2-3 years of specialization, before I’m a full-fledged surgeon.  I was unsure if investing almost 20 years into a profession because I wasn’t sure if I could raid in 20 years.  I don’t even know if WoW is still going to be around in 20 years let alone me playing it.

I have no idea what opened my eyes to this, maybe it was reading Vidyala’s post, or maybe it was me failing my calculus course.  Yeah I know, it’s just hitting me.  Failing that course might prevent me from getting into a medical school, leaving me with a useless biology degree.  But that’s how my life has been for the past 6 years.  I’ve always been thinking about WoW, if not directly playing it, I’ve been thinking about what blog posts to write or thinking about all the wonderful friends I’ve made in game and through the blogging community (I don’t regret that part at all).  WoW was a HUGE part of my life and I’m beginning to think that is shouldn’t be as much, or shouldn’t even be at all.

Her third sentence made me really stop and think not only about WoW but about this blog Bag Overflow.  I started blogging because I had just finished writing my book (excerpt in the about tab) and I wanted to keep my writing skills sharp till I began writing the second.  Anyone want to guess how far I’ve gotten in it.  If you guess 0 words you’d be correct.  I set a goal this year to contact and agent or publicist by my birthday April 23rd.  I actually toyed with the idea of shutting the blog down.  I mean it’s not like this thing has been a huge success (I’m proud of it so I guess that counts for something).  On a good day I get around 30 hits, meanwhile others get 2000.  But shutting it down would feel as if I’m turning my back of all my friends in the blogging community.  Turning my back on Rades and Vidyala and Ophelie and Angelya and Windsoar and Saga and Red Cow and Gauss and Anea and Kamalia so many more!  So I’ve decided to keep the blog up and running even if my posting shedual becomes even more sporadic.  I also started playing WoW again for more than 3o minutes today and it even got entertaining for a while, how long that lasts I don’t know but for now that’s what I’m sticking with.

As always thanks for reading, this sloppy post.

-Anslym

The 12 Days of Winter’s Veil

This year I lucked out (and I’m not saying that just because I actually got a post this year) and got Navimie of The Daily Frostwolf: Druid Edition who sent me an amazing post.   This is the little blurb I read before I actually saw the post:

Dear Ansylm,
Poor you has been stuck with me as your Furtive Father Winter   I hope you enjoy my amusing efforts, my guildies certainly were amused at all the things I had to make them do (eg collect 6 priests, farm for turtle scales and thick leather).

When I first read that I was like, ”farming priests? uhh ok.”  But I got quite the laugh when I read the post.  Enjoy!

On the first day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

                              

A bear cub stuck in a tree

On the second day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree.

On the third day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the fourth day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the fifth day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the sixth day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

Six Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the seventh day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

 7 Worgen Swimming

(Sort of)

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Falling Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the eighth day of Winter’s Veil Navimie sent to me

 

 8 Shades a-Swinging

7 Worgen Swimming

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the ninth day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 9 Butterflies Dancing

8 Shades a-Swinging

7 Worgen Swimming

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the 10th day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

10 Whores not sleeping

9 Butterflies Dancing

8 Shades a-Swinging

7 Worgen Swimming

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the 11th day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

11 Drunks Imbibing

10 Whores not sleeping

9 Butterflies Dancing

8 Shades a-Swinging

7 Worgen Swimming

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree

On the 12th day of Winter’s Veil, Navimie sent to me

 

12 Qiraji humming

11 Drunks Imbibing

10 Whores not sleeping

9 Butterflies Dancing

8 Shades a-Swinging

7 Worgen Swimming

6 Priests a-praying

5 Golden Rings

4 Fallen Wyrms

3 Henchmen

2 Turtle Gloves

And a bear cub stuck in a tree.

Happy Winter’s Veil!

 

 

IntPiPoMo Wrap-up

I know IntPiPoMo finished up a few days  ago but I felt that I needed to finish my contribution off in some way.  Since I didn’t manage to get to 50 pictures I thought I would offer up this video as a tribute. 

This video took well over 100,000 screenshots and I urge you to watch the whole thing, it’s well worth it!

The creater Mdaabil gave some fun facts about the video and here they are:

• A total of 88 zones are shown in random order.
• Over 100,000 screenshots taken.
• Screenshots saved in nearly 950 folders
• More than 100 GB of space consumed.
• Around 900 scenes were captured. Only 164 scenes used.
• It took only few seconds to few minutes to capture most of those scenes.

 

Patch 4.3: Endtime Guide

 

One of an infinite number of potential outcomes, this timeway depicts the desolate future of Azeroth should Deathwing fail to be stopped. Nozdormu has identified a powerful anomaly that exists in this moment and bars access to the past – and hope of retrieving the Demon Soul. A powerful creature from out of time living alone amidst time-twisted echoes of the past.

 

Enraged by his failure to protect the world and, most importantly, the Horde, this time-ravaged shade of Baine Bloodhoof lingers within the ruins of the Obsidian Dragonshrine. Although he’s still as powerful as the tauren high chieftain from the present, within this shattered future Azeroth, this guilt-ridden echo is little more than a discordant vessel of unquenchable malice and anger.

Trash:  The group spawns a bit away from the lava pool with around a half-dozen packs of mobs.  It is possible to skip them it just requires good timing to avoid the two packs that patrol around, this is probably going to be impossible to do in a PuG so you should just clear a few of them.  Just a note to tank and healers, the mobs do a nasty “break armor” which the tank should combat by popping cooldowns and healers should be aware that the tanks health is going to drop quickly during this time.

Molten Axe – The Echo of Baine’s Axe ignites for 10 sec. when he comes into contact with lava. The fiery axe causes melee attacks to inflict an additional 10000 Fire damage.

Molten Fists – Players’ fists ignite for 20 sec. when they come into contact with lava. The ignited fists cause melee attacks to inflict an additional 10000 Fire damage.

Pulverize – The Echo of Baine slams the ground with his totem, inflicting 30000 Physical damage to enemies within 15 yards and destroying the nearby platform.

Throw Totem – The Echo of Baine throws his totem at a random player, inflicting 60000 Physical damage and knocking them back. The totem then persists on the ground at the target’s location for 20 sec.

Throw Totem – A player may attempt to throw the totem back at the Echo of Baine. A successful throw inflicts 5% of the Echo of Baine’s maximum health as Physical damage, stuns him, and increases his damage taken by 50% for 20 sec.

What this means: There are four (4) platforms that are at the start of the encounter.  Baine is on the far one which is where the tank and melee should start out.  Ranged and healers can stand on one of the farther ones.  Keep Baine close to the lava but not in the lava because while the lava does damage it also gives a melee buff, so keeping Baine close to the lava gives the melee a chance to grab the buff.  Baine occasionally throws his totem at someone.  This knocks them back off the platform, they should swim back quickly to avoid lava damage.  Someone else should click the totem and throw it at Baine to damage him.  He also does a move called Pulverize which breaks the platform.  Swim quickly to the next platform, rinse and repeat.

 

The tormented fragment of Jaina Proudmoore has been split and infused within the shattered pieces of her staff. To restore balance to the timeways, this echo must be defeated. However, the devastating magical power possessed by the once-proud ruler of Theramore is hardly lost to her time-havocked spectre. In this future Azeroth, she is only divided, and waiting…

Trash:  This trash is somewhat optional.  Around the area there are going to be broken pieces of Jaina’s staff floating around.  You need to collect all sixteen (16) of them to start the encounter.  When I did it on the PTR I managed to snag all 16 without killing trash (just takes time to wait for the trash to patrol away).  A pack of mobs in this dragonshrine is similar to Halls of Reflection.  It has a priest, mage, hunter, and footmen.  Nuke the priest down first and kill any light wells that spawn and the rest is cake.  It is important to mention that you will need to clear at least two (2) packs to the right of her spawn point because they will pull during the encounter.

Blink – The Echo of Jaina teleports to a nearby location.

Flarecore – The Echo of Jaina hurls a growing Flarecore ember at the ground near an enemy. The ember explodes if touched, inflicting 5000-50000 Fire damage to enemies within 5 yds. If not exploded within 10 sec., the ember detonates and inflicts 94500 Fire damage to all enemies.

Frost Blades – The Echo of Jaina conjures three blades of ice and sends them flying forward. Enemies that collide with the blades are encased in a block of ice, stunning them for 5 sec.

Frostbolt Volley – The Echo of Jaina inflicts 20000 Frost damage to nearby enemies within 65 yards and reduces their movement speed by 30% for 4 sec.

Pyroblast – The Echo of Jaina inflicts 50000 Fire damage to her current target and an additional 5000 Fire damage every 3 sec. for 12 sec.

What this means:  Jaina will periodically spawn balls of lava that land randomly, have a range run through them and soak up the 5k+ fire damage instead of letting them grow and do massive amounts of damage to the group.  She also casts frostbolt volley which is interruptable. Pyroblast is not unfortunately so the tank has to soak it up.  Jaina will also blink during the encounter and when she does she will immideately cast Frost Blades which look like the 4 ice pillars the Lich king shatters at the start of the fight.  They are pretty easy to dodge so this mechanic shouldn’t be a huge concern.  Once you’ve mastered these mechanics you’ve got the fight down.

 

Spawned from shattered timeways and cloistered within the Ruby Dragonshrine, a maddened fragment of the Forsaken’s leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, waits restlessly. Having lost everything and unable to find peace, this tormented echo aches for a chance to unleash her dark fury at anything still living within these barren, time-twisted wastes.

Trash:  A large mob surrounded by a bunch of little geists.  If you kill the big mob first (like my group did) the geists cast cannibalize and eat his corpse which heals them to full and buffs their health and damage by 50%.  It’s also worth mentioning that they are immune to damage when they are cannibalizing.  It is possible to kill the trash by killing the big buy first, it just takes a little longer, I guess.

The Calling of the Highborne – Sylvanas ascends towards the sky, pulling all of her enemies below her. Her calling then summons eight Risen Ghouls in a circle around Sylvanas. A shadowy link forms between each ghoul, and the area behind each ghoul fills with shadows. The ghouls then march mindlessly towards Sylvanas. When a Risen Ghoul reaches Sylvanas, it performs the Sacrifice spell.

Crossing any of the links between the Risen Ghouls or standing within the shadows behind the ghouls inflicts Wracking Pain every second on the player. Destroying a Risen Ghoul will sever the link to other nearby ghouls, and remove the area of shadows behind it.

Wracking Pain – Crossing any of the links between the Risen Ghouls or standing within the shadows behind the ghouls inflicts Wracking Pain on the player every second. Wracking Pain inflicts 55000 Shadow damage.

Risen Ghoul – When a Risen Ghoul reaches Sylvanas, it performs the Sacrifice spell.

Destroying a Risen Ghoul will sever the link to other nearby ghouls, and remove the area of shadows behind it.

Sacrifice – Sacrifice inflicts 300000 Shadow damage to players within 11 yards of Sylvanas.

Shriek of the Highborne – Sylvanas shrieks with anguish, inflicting 75000 Shadow damage on a random player and decreasing their movement speed by 50% for 30 sec.

Black Arrow – Sylvanas fires an explosive black arrow at a random player, inflicting 60000 Shadow damage players within 10 yards of the target.

Unholy Shot – Sylvanas targets a barrage of missiles at a random player, striking up to 3 players within 10 yards of the target. Each missile inflicts 30000 Shadow damage and an additional 25000 Shadow damage every 2 sec. for 10 sec.

Blighted Arrows – Sylvanas blights the ground in a 3 yard radius circle beneath a random player and leaps towards the sky. The blight inflicts 35000 damage every 1 sec. and reduces the movement speed by 50% of any player standing within it.

At the peak of her jump, she launches a volley of deadly arrows at the blighted ground. The arrows inflict 46250 Shadow damage and knock back any player still standing within the blight.

What this means:  Once Sylvanas gets to a certain percent she jumps to the sky and pulls are part members in towards her.  She spawn a circle of ghouls that are all linked together.  The goal of this phase is to kill a ghoul and get out of the ring before they reach Sylvanas.  It’s important to note to tanks and melee that if they touch or cross the ring you will take a massive amount of damage and probably die.  I saw this happen a lot when the ghouls began walking towards her and the melee didn’t back up to counter their movements.  She does this ability twice during the encounter and once she explodes the ghouls everyone should move because she casts an AoE blight puddle under the group that everyone should avoid.

 

Once the leader of the night elves and High Priestess of Elune, this time-twisted fragment of Tyrande Whisperwind now wanders the wastes of the desolate future of Azeroth. Enveloped in a perpetual midnight, she has all but lost sight of the comforting light of Elune.

Trash: When you first teleport into the Emerald Dragonshire (or what’s left of it) you won’t see anything.  Tyrande lives in eternal darkness in End Time and so will you.  Trash will start spawning and you still won’t be able to see anything, tanks it’s up to you to pick up these adds (gogo swipe spam) and pull them to the pools of moonlight that Tyrande will occasionally spawn.  Rinse and repeat till you can engage Tyrande.

Moonbolt – Tyrande launches a powerful blast of moon energy at her current target, inflicting 40000 Arcane damage.

Dark Moonlight – A pool of dark moonlight surrounds Tyrande, slowing spell-casting speed by 50% for all enemies within 15 yards.

Stardust – Tyrande scatters a diffuse trail of star energy into the wind, inflicting 50000 Arcane damage to all players.

Moonlance – Tyrande summons forth a powerful lance of moon energy that travels along the ground and splits into three parts after several seconds. Each Moonlance inflicts 50000 Arcane damage to all players within 2 yards and stuns them for 5 sec.

Eyes of the Goddess – Tyrande summons forth the twin eyes of Elune, the Moon Goddess. Players cannot attack the Eyes of the Goddess.

Piercing Gaze of Elune – The Eyes of Elune travel in a circular motion around Tyrande, emitting the Piercing Gaze of Elune every 1 sec. Piercing Gaze of Elune inflicts 50000 Arcane damage to all players within 6 yards and silences them for 5 sec.

Lunar Guidance – At 80% remaining health, Tyrande beseeches Elune for guidance. Tyrande is imbued with Lunar Guidance, allowing her spells to cast 25% faster. Tyrande gains a second stack of Lunar Guidance when she reaches 55% remaining health.

Tears of Elune – At 30% remaining health, Tyrande cries out for aid from the Moon Goddess. Tears of Elune rain from the sky for the remainder of the battle, inflicting 30000 Arcane damage to players within 4 yards.

What this means: All of her abilities are caster abilities which means tanks are going to have to tank her where she stands.  Ranged and healers stay away from Tyrande because standing close to her slows your casting speed by 50%.  Avoid her moonlance ability (looks like the druids moonfire ability being cast at the ground).  Anyone with an interrupt should interrupt her Stardust ability.  At 30% she casts Tear of Elune, which is an AoE ability that hits tanks and melee so cooldowns should be saved for this phase.

 

Now living outside of time, Murozond was once the great Dragon Aspect Nozdormu the Timeless One. After the titans showed him his own death, the tormented Nozdormu was tricked by the Old Gods into trying to subvert his mortality. As a result, Nozdormu shattered the timeways and created the infinite dragonflight… jeopardizing the very future of Azeroth.

Trash: There are two (2) packs of mobs that are at the Bronze dragonshrine.  The first pack pats towards you when you first teleport in and are easy to deal with.  The second pack are all casters that are standing at the giant hourglass in the middle of the area.  When we first did it we wiped, but we used sap and hibernate the second time and we had no problems with this pull (keep in mind that on the PTR our gear levels were scaled back to 353).

Temporal Blast – Murozond inflicts 25000 Arcane damage to all nearby enemies and increases their Arcane damage taken by 10% for 20 sec.

Distortion Bomb – Murozond launches an orb of temporal energy at the location of a random player. When the orb reaches this location, it explodes and leaves an 8 yard radius area of temporal distortion. The distortion area inflicts 25000 Arcane damage every second to all enemies standing within the area.

Flame Breath – Inflicts 75000 Shadow damage to all enemies in front of the caster.

Nozdormu – Nozdormu is unable to assist the players directly, but grants them the Blessing of the Bronze Dragonflight.

Blessing of the Bronze Dragonflight – Blesses the target with the power of the Bronze Dragonflight. Melee, ranged, and spell casting speed is increased by 40%. Movement speed increased by 40%.

Hourglass of Time – Murozond stole the Hourglass of Time and trapped it here within the End Time of Azeroth. The Hourglass casts Rewind Time when a player interacts with it, but the Hourglass can only be used up to five times during the encounter.

Rewind Time – The Reverse Time effect rewinds everything back to the beginning of the encounter. The reversal restores each player’s health and mana, then resets all of their ability cooldowns. The reversal also removes all Distortion Bombs.

What this means:  Probably the easiest fight in the instance and the coolest too.  Murozond casts distortion bombs which land at random party members feet creating an area that does damage when you stand on it.  He casts this pretty often and it quickly covers the entire area.  He does a standard dragon flame breath that the tank is going to have to soak up.  Once the entire floor is covered with his distortion bombs a party member can click on the giant hourglass in the middle or the area which rests time for a few seconds.  All the distortion bombs will disappear, any dead party members will be brought back to life, and any cooldowns will be reset.  This means you can continually blow heroism, bloodlust, timewarp and any other cooldowns you may have.

Patch 4.3: The Well of Eternity Guide

 

Ten-thousand years in the past, the night elven capital city of Zin-Azshari was a magnificent, sparkling metropolis. Situated on the shores of the Well of Eternity, it was here that the aristocratic Highborne first opened a portal into the Twisting Nether and invited the Burning Legion to invade Azeroth. Under the command of the night elven queen, Azshara, they now pour their energies into the portal, preparing it for the terrifying and glorious entrance of the demon god Sargeras.

 

Like many of his fellow Highborne, Peroth’arn swore allegiance to the corrupted Xavius in exchange for gifts of demonic power. As a master of fiendish magic and recipient of the satyr curse, Peroth’arn stands outside Azshara’s palace in defense of the Burning Legion, ready to destroy those hoping to disrupt the entrance of the Dark Titan, Sargeras, into Azeroth.

Trash:  The first pull of the heroic is a large fel guard.  It takes a group effort to get him down, worth noting is he casts a debuff that increases damage done by X%.  When I did it on the PTR I was up to increased 90% damage.  Once he is down the group progresses to a batch of crystals that need to be destroyed.  There is a group of mobs defending these crystals but they’re not too bad to deal with.  What you should lookout for it a knock back they do that could potentially knock you back into the legion of demons behind you.  Once you destroy all three (3) crystal clusters you can  move on to fight Peroth’arn.

Corrupting Touch – Peroth’arn’s melee strikes apply Corrupting Touch on his current target, increasing damage taken by 10% for 20 sec. This effect stacks.

Fel Flames – Peroth’arn calls down a fel fireball on a random player, inflicting 35000 Fire damage and leaving behind fire that causes 11875 Fire damage every second for 30 sec.

Fel Decay – Peroth’arn’s sickly touch causes a random target to decay from within, instantly inflicting 40000 Shadow damage and 8500 Shadow damage every second for 10 sec. Any healing done to the afflicted player causes the healer to suffer 101% of the amount healed as Shadow damage.

Drain Essence – At 60% remaining health, Peroth’arn stuns all enemies and inflicts Shadow damage every second for 4 sec.

The Eyes of Peroth’arn
After Illidan interrupts Drain Essence, Peroth’arn returns to the shadows to ambush the heroes. Peroth’arn unleashes his Eyes of Peroth’arn to search for the players. Players gain the protection of their Shadowcloaks to help them avoid the detection range of the Eyes.

If players avoid detection for 40 seconds, Peroth’arn becomes visible and weakened with the Enfeebled effect.

If an Eye of Peroth’arn discovers a player, Peroth’arn marks the player with Easy Prey, leaps out of the shadows, and attacks the discovered player.

Easy Prey – When an Eye of Peroth’arn discovers a player, Peroth’arn casts Fel Quickening and marks his new target as Easy Prey. The mark removes the player’s Shadowcloak or stealth and stuns them for 8 sec.

Fel Quickening – Peroth’arn increases his attack speed by 100% for 15 sec.

Enfeebled – If after 40 seconds Peroth’arn has not detected a player with his Eyes, Peroth’arn can no longer remain hidden in the shadows and becomes Enfeebled. This effect stuns Peroth’arn and increases his damage taken by 25% damage for 15 sec.

Endless Frenzy -At 20% remaining health, Peroth’arn frenzies and increases his damage by 25%.

What this means: When you engage the fight its pretty tank and spank.  Move it you get targeted by fel flames because it leaves a patch of flames on the ground when it lands.  Healers need to be wary of Fel Decay, it makes the healer take the amount healed as damage.  At 60% this fight gets interesting.  Peroth’arn stuns the group and begins doing a massive amount of AoE damage.  Illidan interrupts him and makes the group go invisible.  Peroth’arn also dives into the shadows and casts Eyes of Peroth’arn which float around looking for group members.  When I did this I ran behind a pillar and stayed put.  Unfortunately a group member decided not to hide from one of the eyes and put a quick end to this phase (with his death). Now having done this properly, it’s safe to run behind a pillar but when the eyes start moving towards you, run away from them!  Once Peroth’arn becomes visible its again a simple tank and spank.

 

The songs of Queen Azshara’s beauty, majesty, and power are too numerous to count, but it was her vanity that drove the Highborne to summon the Burning Legion. She now watches her most trusted magi empower the portal where Sargeras will be brought into Azeroth, content to let multitudes of her servants die in advance of the Dark Titan’s arrival.

Trash:  The adds themselves up the walkway aren’t that bad.  On only major thing to be careful of are “Eyes of the Legion” pull one of these suckers at a time (This might not be necessary at higher gear levels) they cast a chain lighting ability that can wipe the group pretty quickly if you pull all 3 at once.

Total Obedience – Queen Azshara attempts to charm every player and turn them into puppets for 20 sec.

Enchanted Magi – Queen Aszhara commands two of her Enchanted Magi to attack the players. When the players defeat an Enchanted Magus or enough time elapses, another two Magi enter combat. Each Enchanted Magi possess one of three schools of magic.

When the players defeat all of the Enchanted Magi, Queen Azshara retreats from combat and the players complete the encounter.

Frost Magus

Ice Fling – The Enchanted Magus inflicts 25000 Frost damage on a random player.

Coldflame – The Enchanted Magus’s Coldflame inflicts 45000 Frost damage in a line, and continues to inflict 45000 Frost damage every 1 sec. for 4 sec.

Blades of Ice – The Enchanted Magus charges at the location of a random player, then inflicts 75% weapon damage as Frost damage to all players within 5 yards of the location.

Fire Magus

Fireball – The Enchanted Magus inflicts 25000 Fire damage on its current target.

Firebomb – The Enchanted Magus hurls a fiery bomb at a random player, inflicting 35000 Fire damage on them and other players within 10 yards and reducing their movement speed for 5 sec.

Blast Wave – The Enchanted Magus unleashes a wave of flame, inflicting 30000 Fire damage on enemies within 40 yards.

Arcane Magus

Arcane Shock – The Enchanted Magus inflicts 9400 Arcane damage every 1 sec. on all enemies within 45 yards.

Arcane Bomb – The Enchanted Magus summons an arcane bomb that inflicts 75000 Arcane damage and reduces the movement speed of players within 5 yards of its impact by 50%.

What this means:  You can’t damage Queen Azshara at all during this encounter.  Instead you have to kill the 6 adds she has on her platform.  The first pull has two (2) mages that need to be defeated.  After you kill one, another one will join the encounter.  The only thing you can do to Azshara is interrupt her, which needs to be down when she begins casting total obedience or else it’s game over.  Another key mechanic is when you see a puppeteers hand appear over a random party member it needs to be killed to break the mind control over the party member.  Once all six (6) magi have been defeated Azshara breaks from combat and leaves the area, leaving you with a treasure chest full of loot.

 

Varo’then, head of Queen Azshara’s personal guard, and Mannoroth, the pit lord whose blood will corrupt the entire orc race, stand as the last line of defense against those hoping to bar Sargeras’s entry into Azeroth. Though both Tyrande and Illidan have fought bravely thus far, the fate of Azeroth will be decided at the Well of Eternity’s very brink.

Trash: The trash before this boss is pretty simple to combat.  Say in Tyrande’s moonbeam and nuke down the adds.

Stage One: Dealing with the Rabble
Players must defeat Captain Varo’then while Illidian and Tyrande fight off Mannoroth and the demonic forces entering from the Well of Eternity.

Mannoroth – Mannaroth faces off in mortal combat against Illidan Stormrage.

Fel Firestorm – Mannoroth unleashes a Fel Firestorm, rapidly creating 3 yard radius Fel Flames around the area for 12 sec. Fel Flames inflict 20000 Fire damage every second to any player standing within them.

Felblade – Mannoroth coats his mighty polearm in demonic fire, gaining a chance to deal 60000 additional Fire damage when striking opponents in melee.

Fel Drain – If the players inflict a significant amount of damage to Mannoroth while Captain Varo’then lives, Mannoroth sacrifices Captain Varo’then and heals himself to full health.

Doomguard Devastator – These massive demons from the Well of Eternity seek to protect Mannoroth, but Tyrande stands in their way.

Dreadlord Debilitator – These Dread Lords periodically enter from the Well of Eternity, then attempt to debilitate Tyrande.

Debilitating Flay – The Debilitating Dreadlord disables Tyrande, preventing her from performing any actions and allowing Doomguards to swarm the area.

Captain Varo’then – Captain Varo’then attacks the players to prevent them from interfering with Mannoroth’s concentration.

Magistrike – Varo’then charges his sword with Arcane and Fire magics, dealing 30000 Fire damage to an enemy and arcing to another nearby foe.

Illidan Stormrage – Illidan occupies Mannoroth in melee combat so the players are free to defeat Captain Varo’then.

Darklance – Illidan conjures forth a spear of dark magical energy, piercing Mannoroth for 30000 Shadow damage.

Aura of Immolation – Illidan shrouds himself in magical flames, inflicting 20000 Fire damage to nearby enemies every 3 seconds.

Demon Rush – Illidan charges at Mannoroth, coursing with Fel energies and inflicting 100% weapon damage to him.

Demonic Sight – The Gift of Sargeras gives Illidan sight beyond sight, allowing him to dodge 90% of Mannoroth’s attacks.

Taunt – Illidan goads Mannoroth into focusing attacks on him.

Waters of Eternity – After Mannoroth creates a Fel Firestorm, Illidan splashes himself with the waters of the Well of Eternity. The water provides substantial magical powers and reduces the Fire damage taken by all nearby allies by 90%.

Tyrande Whisperwind – Tyrande positions herself to intercept the rush of Doomguard Devastators exiting from the Well of Eternity with Lunar Shot.

Lunar Shot – Tyrande holds off the demons exiting from the Well of Eternity with her Lunar Shot.

Blessing of Elune – When a Dreadlord Debilitator casts Debilitating Flay upon her, Tyrande beseeches Elune for her blessing. This blessing affects all nearby allies, enchanting their attacks and spells to inflict additional Arcane damage to lesser demons.

Stage Two: Flames and Darkness
After the players defeat Captain Varo’then, his enchanted Magistrike Blade lies on the ground. After a player throws and embeds the blade into Mannoroth, the demon begins to take massive damage from the stored magic within the blade.

Mannoroth – The wounded Mannoroth continues to fight, opening a Nether Portal to bring demonic allies into the fray.

Embedded Blade – Players may pick up Captain Varo’then’s magical elven blade and throw it towards Mannoroth. The blade embeds itself into Mannoroth’s demonic armor. The magical blade then causes strikes against Mannoroth to have a chance to create a Magistrike Arc inflicting 1000000 Fire damage to Mannoroth.

Fel Fire Nova – After a player embeds the Magistrike blade within Mannoroth, the open wound emits a steady pulse of fel fire. Each pulse inflicts 30000 Fire damage to enemies.

Nether Portal – Mannoroth summons a portal to the Twisting Nether, allowing him to call forth demonic allies. As his remaining health dwindles, additional types of demons exit through the portal.

Felhound – At 85% remaining health, Mannoroth summons a weak felhound to aid him in combat from the Nether Portal.

Felguard – At 70% remaining health, Mannoroth also summons a Felguard from the Nether Portal to aid him in combat.

Doomguard Devastator – At 60% remaining health, additional Doomguard Devastators begin to pour from the Nether Portal.

Infernal – At 50% remaining health, Mannoroth calls down a hail of Infernals to aid him in combat.

Illidan Stormrage – Illidan continues to fight Mannoroth with his host of Demon Hunter abilities.

Tyrande Whisperwind – Tyrande runs out of arrows and beseeches Elune for help against the overwhelming number of demons.

Hand of Elune – Tyrande is granted the full powers of the High Priestess of Elune, inflicting 30000 Arcane damage to three neaby lesser demons every 3 seconds.

Stage Three: Your World will be Unmade!
After Tyrande collapses upon destroying the rain of Infernals, Illidan then infuses himself to finish off Mannoroth.

Mannoroth – Even heavily wounded Mannoroth continues to fight for his lord Sargeras.

Embedded Blade – The embedded magical blade causes strikes against Mannoroth to have a chance to create a Magistrike Arc, inflicting 1000000 Fire damage to Mannoroth.

Fel Fire Nova – After a player embeds the Magistrike blade within Mannoroth, the open wound emits a steady pulse of fel fire. Each pulse inflicts 30000 Fire damage to enemies.

Illidan Stormrage – Illidan infuses himself with demonic energy to finish the fight.

Gift of Sargeras – Illidan infuses himself and all nearby allies with the fel energies of the demon lord Sargeras, healing for 20% of maximum health every 2 seconds and dealing 30000 Fire damage to nearby enemies every 2 seconds.

Tyrande Whisperwind – Tyrande unleashes a massive blast of Arcane energy to destroy any nearby lesser demons, then collapses.

Elune’s Wrath – Tyrande unleases a blast of Arcane energy to destroy any nearby lesser demons.

What this means: Probably the hardest boss fight out of the three new heroics.  In phase 1 Tyrande handles the adds and Illidan handles Mannoroth.  The group’s job is to fight against Varo’then.  He does an ability that will hurt a random group member so healers watch for that.  It’s an easy tank and spank during this phase with the only thing the group needs to look out for being Fel Firestorm.  Once Mannoroth casts this everyone will need to move to avoid fire damage.  Once Varo’then has been defeated someone needs to throw his dropped sword at Mannoroth to begin the second phase.

Phase 2: Tyrande runs out of arrows and needs the group members help to fight off the adds.  My group stacked up by Tyrande to down the adds, only thing you need to watch for again is Fel Firestorm (my group died to this because we didn’t see it on the ground because of all the AoE graphics going on).   Once you kill the demons (or get a handle on them anyway) don’t forget to get some damage in on Mannoroth!  Once Tyrande exhausts herself by killing all the lesser demons she collapses and phase 3 starts.

Phase 3:   Tank and spank with damage going out.  Burn through him as quickly as possible and the fight is over.

Patch 4.3: Hour of Twilight Guide

 

With the Dragon Soul retrieved from the past, the Heroes of Azeroth now prepare for the final confrontation with Deathwing. In the frozen wastes of Northrend, the towering spire of Wyrmrest Temple is under the assault of Deathwing’s Twilight forces. In order to save Azeroth, Thrall must arrive safely at the temple with the Dragon Soul in hand.

 

Horde and Alliance assaults against the Twilight’s Hammer have slaughtered many of the cult’s fearsome elemental ascendants. One exception is Arcurion, a formidable ice ascendant tasked to slay Thrall and retrieve the Dragon Soul. Should this twisted elemental being succeed, nothing will be able to stop Deathwing from ushering in the Hour of Twilight.

Trash: Only two trash pulls before the first boss, each spawn when you talk to Thrall.  It’s two (2) ice elementals that can be shackled.  Not that they need to be because they’re pretty easy.

Hand of Frost – Arcurion’s icy grip reaches out at his current target, inflicting 50000 Frost damage.

Chains of Frost – Arcurion unleashes a wave of ice, inflicting 10000 Frost damage and immobilizing all enemies within 65 yards for 10 sec.

Frozen Servitor – Arcurion’s minions surround the canyon and throw Icy Boulders onto random players below.

Icy Boulder – A Frozen Servitor assaults a random player with huge blocks of ice, inflicting 20000 Frost damage.

Thrall - Thrall hurls molten lava at the Frozen Servitors above, keeping their numbers in check.

Icy Tomb – Arcurion encases Thrall in an Icy Tomb. Free Thrall so that he can keep the ambushing forces at bay!

Torrent of Frost – At 30% remaining health, Arcurion unleashes a devastating Torrent of Frost inflicting 15000 Frost damage each second to all enemies and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 5 sec.

What this means:  Thrall takes care of the adds that spawn, the main thing to look out for on this boss are the patches of ice he uses to damage the party with.  They are marked with runes on the ground (like in Pit of Saron, Hodir, and Deadmines).  He occasionally freezes the party to the ground so they can’t move out of it.  At the start of the second phase he freezes Thrall, which he needs to be broken out of.  At 30% it’s time to blow cooldowns because he does massive AoE damage till he dies.

 

Former blade-for-hire Asira Sunbright was initially leery of working for the Twilight’s Hammer, but the cult’s generous payments quickly won her over. In time, she succumbed to the corruptive influence of her dark employers, even going so far as to take the name Dawnslayer. As one of the cult’s deadliest assassins, Asira has been called upon to exterminate Thrall and his comrades.

Trash:  Let the tank go first because Twilight assassins jump out of stealth killing any and all squishies.  They’re pretty easy to get through and Thrall casts down a totem that progressively buffs the damage and heal output by 5% each stack.  Once you kill the pack, Thrall continues walking and more will eventually spawn.  Once you finish killing all the assassins a red drake will spawn, signifying the start of the next boss encounter.

Mark of Silence – Asira marks a random enemy spellcaster for 20 sec. When a marked target casts a spell, Asira throws a knife in their direction.

Throw Knife – Asira throws one of her knives toward a marked enemy spellcaster, inflicting 15000 Physical damage to the first player it collides with. If the knife hits a player afflicted with Mark of Silence, it also silences for 2.5 sec.

Choking Smoke Bomb – Asira creates a cloud of thick smoke in an 8 yard radius around her for 20 sec. The cloud prevents enemies from targeting into or out of the smoke cloud and inflicts 5000 Nature damage every 0.5 sec.

Blade Barrier – At 30% remaining health, Asira begins a dazzling display of weapon mastery. Her Blade Barrier reduces any incoming amount of damage below 40000 to 1. The Blade Barrier ends when a player hits Asira with a damaging attack or spell above this threshold.

Lesser Blade Barrier – Asira erects this weaker barrier when a player removes Blade Barrier. The Lesser Blade Barrier reduces any incoming amount of damage below 30000 to 1. The Lesser Blade Barrier ends when a player hits Asira with a damaging attack or spell above this threshold.

Thrall – Thrall assists the players in combat against Asira.

Lava Burst – Thrall hurls molten lava at the target, inflicting 50000 Fire damage.

Rising Fire Totem – Thrall summons a Fire Totem that periodically increases the damage and maximum health of nearby players. The totem lasts 20 sec and its effect can stack up to 10 times.

Healing Wave – Thrall calls upon Nature magic to heal himself.

What this means:   She uses smoke bomb occasionally, which the tank needs to be pulled out of because it does AoE damage.  The only thing casters need to lookout for is Mark of silence, when you get this on you the next time you cast a spell she’ll thrown her dagger at you, dealing damage and silencing you for 5 seconds.

 

 Archbishop Benedictus is the revered leader of the Church of the Holy Light. For years, his wise guidance has been instrumental in seeing humanity through bleak times. Yet beneath his apparent benevolence lies the shocking truth that Benedictus has pledged himself to the eradication of all life on Azeroth through the agency of his dark master… Deathwing.

Trash: There are a few packs of adds that spawn when you move closer and closer to Wyrmrest temple.  The first add that needs to die is the tentacle with an eye at the end of it, like the adds on the second phase of Cho’gall.  Once this is dead you can focus on the other two adds.  Rinse and repeat till you reach Wyrmrest temple.

Stage One: The Light Will Consume You!
Benedictus assaults Thrall with the powers of the Holy Light.

Righteous Shear – Archbishop Benedictus targets a random player with Righteous Shear, inflicting Holy damage to players within 10 yards of the target per stack of Righteous Shear.

Purifying Light – Archbishop Benedictus forms three orbs of Purifying Light and raises them above his head, sending them to assault a nearby player and causing a Purifying Blast.

Purifying Blast – Archbishop Benedictus’ Purifying Blast inflicts 50000 Holy damage to players within 6 yards.

Wave of Virtue – Archbishop Benedictus summons a Wave of Virtue to sweep across the platform, inflicting 100000 Holy damage to nearby players and knocking them back.

Stage Two: Drown in Shadow!
At 60% remaining health Archbishop Benedictus casts Twilight Epiphany, showing his true form, transforming into an agent of the Twilight and trapping Thrall in a Twilight Prison.

Twilight Shear – Archbishop Benedictus targets a random player with Twilight Shear, inflicting Shadow damage to players within 10 yards of the target per stack of Twilight Shear.

Corrupting Twilight – Archbishop Benedictus forms three orbs of Corrupting Twilight and raises them above his head, sending them to assault a nearby player and causing a Twilight Blast.

Twilight Blast – Archbishop Benedictus’ Twilight Blast inflicts 50000 Shadow damage to players within 6 yards.

Wave of Twilight – Archbishop Benedictus summons a Wave of Twilight to sweep across the platform, inflicting 100000 Shadow damage to nearby players, knocking them back.

Thrall – Thrall will assist his allies in combat with Archbishop Benedictus.

Cleansing Spirit – Thrall cleanses the spirit, dispelling one stack of a magic effect.

Chain Lightning – Thrall lashes out at the Purifying Light with Chain Lightning, destroying them.

Water Shell – Thrall’s Water Shell protects allies from the Wave of Virtue and increases their damage done by 100%.

What this means:  Simple tank and spank with damage going out to random party members that needs to be healed through.  Only thing that needs to be avoided would be the Wave of virtue.  A giant wave of light that spawns at one side of the room, it’s easily run around.

Phase 2:  A dot will be placed on a random party member that need to be dispelled (I died to this).  Same as the first phase just in shadow instead of light.  Run around the wave of twilight.  Kill him and get some loot.

An Ode to Warcraft

 

I would first off like to thank Amerence, from Amerence loves WoW for setting up this thanksgiving event,

Even if I a tweet asking her for an extension last night was sent.

 

I guess I’ll try to go in chronological order of my thanks,

Spanning from Canadians, to Europeans, and yes even to those yanks.

 

My story first begins with Samueltempus who leads my guild,

His writing style on his (now retired blog) Slice N’ Dice is like a bottle of wine, cool and chilled.

 

I was accepted into the guild Bucklers of Swash,

When I told them I was Iharrypotter, they all cried hogwash!

 

The real work began to take me from a priest with a bizarre half-shadow, half-holy spec,

And gear me up, right down to my best in slot neck.

 

Once I found out my guild leader had a webpage,

I asked him for advice, all wise and sage.

 

I met the community and found a neat little place,

Anea was the owner of this quaint little space.

 

I started my blog because I was moved by Anea’s words on Oh look, an Alt,

Which is funny because all bloggers say to take their words with a grain of salt.

 

Anea also introduced me to Twitter,

Where all my time away I do flitter.

 

Next came totem tossing, my successful failure,

This is where Windsoar comes in to be my saviour.

 

From Jaded Alt she came to tell me to do away with Totem Toss,

She told me it wasn’t my fault, it was the blogs loss.

 

Bag Overflow I began, a blog a new,

Back when healing pugs is what Vidyala used to do.

 

Her pugging pally project gave me an whizzing idea,

And that aint no onomatopoeia.

 

With her blog focused on something that isn’t a bore,

The idea she gave me was for a set of focused post: reputation whore.

 

The idea didn’t quite pan out,

But the next idea I had was sure-fire, no doubt!

 

I looked to Anna from Too Many Anna’s

Why hadn’t I thought of it before, surely I was bananas!

 

I began to write fanfiction, about my characters life,

That’s when I discovered Orcish army knife!

 

It was Rades and his lore affinity,

That got me over my fear, and I lost my lore post virginity.

 

Because it’s so nice, Im going to say it twice, Orcish Army Knife!

Has shown me alliance and horde bloggers need not have strife!

 

Another blog(cast) that promotes unity would be The Twisted Nether,

With Hydra and Fimlys it couldn’t be better!

 

Listening to these guys on the long bus ride home,

Really makes me thankful for everything warcraft, yes even including the gnome.

 

We are forever in debt to the dwarves because of brewfest,

But everyone knows Draenei wear it best!

 

I’m thankful for the Worgen who brought bad-assery to the alliance,

I’m thankful to the forsaken who stood up to the lich king in defiance.

 

I’m grateful to the orc’s even if their leader has a fat head,

And I already said about Sylvannas and the undead.

 

The tauren to who introduced me to the shaman class

And to the blood elves whose humility no one can surpass.

 

Im thankful for the night elves and their flipping jump,

And to the goblins in their post-recession economic slump.

 

I’m thankful for the humans and their stalwart Varian Wrynn,

Even in an oddway I’m grateful for Deathwing and his giant chin.

 

I’m in debt trolls for giving me so many valor points,

I’m even thankful for rogues who stab right at the joints.  

 

I love paladins for always taking the nerf bat,

I love it when the druids go kitty cat.

 

I’m glad the hunter class took every bad player,

I’m kidding, I jest, it’s really the Death knight class that’s fail town’s mayor.

 

I’m thankful for the priest class that’s there when from Anslym I need a rest.

I’m even kind of thankful for the mages that think they’re the best.

 

I’m glad for all the warriors who take hits to the face,

I even like the warlocks who always on recount come in first place.

 

I love the shaman class that I’ve come to play,

But more importantly I have one last thing to say.

 

I’m forever in debt to Blizzard, the creators of this game,

And on a note that is almost the same.

 

I am proud to be a member of the Wow  blogging community,

Who gave me this great writing opportunity!

 

And lastly I’m going to tell you something you already knew,

I am immensely thankful for the readers.

 

P.S that’s you!

P.S.S you didn’t think I was going to rhyme the last line didn’t you?