DK 10-Man Emblem Gear

Yesterday I gave you a glimpse of my 25-man emblem shopping list. I have prepared a similar one for 10-man emblems with my DK. Keep in mind, I have done next to no gearing apart from PvP honor gear (because I was trying to do things the "hard way"). I have only run like two or three heroics on her (as much as people need someone to go). She is primarily DPS.

With that said, here's what I have in order of priority:

1. Verdungo's Barbarian Cord - 40 Emblems (Like the yellow slot if you're not melee hit capped, or can put plenty of other good stuff in there. Belt buckle will give you two gems on your belt)
2. Sigil of Haunted Dreams - 15 Emblems (Okay, based on commenting, this one should be removed in favor of the 25-man sigil eventually. For now, I picked up the 30-venture coin sigil for Icy Touch: The Sigil of Frozen Conscience. It only took all of 15 minutes to get out of Grizz Hills.)
3. The T7.1 Glove Token - 60 Emblems (Though I just got a very good quest reward from completing the Heroic CoS quest chain inside the instance, these may bump down a spot)
4. The T7.1 Chest Token - 80 Emblems (I linked the actual item for both of these... this will probably move up a slot)
5. Added - Mirror of Truth - 40 Emblems (I have it on good authority from Stop that this is well worth the price, this one may even get bumped above the tokens as you can roll for those, good trinkets are hard to come by).
   

Remember, like a warlock, it is important to get your hit capped ASAP. Unlike a warlock, the major cap you want to hit is melee hit, which is only 8% or 263 hit points without any talents. If you're frost DPS like I am, that means right now you rely heavily on IT and HB (spells), so extra hit isn't all that bad. Death Coil also counts as a spell (though frost people will be using frost strike instead).

I think most DK stat priorities actually throw hit in there twice... once on top until you melee cap, then once later until you spell cap. Thus, I'm going with something like hit>str>AP>crit>hit>haste>else. I think that's pretty decent, correct me if I'm wrong. I certainly do not do my background reading on DK's as much.

Also, remember that the patch is going to completely screw up any frost DPS specs (as well as many others), so who knows what I'll be running with then. For now, I'm really enjoying the "rangedness" of the spec. Having IT and HB in my arsenal makes it fun, and FS is a great "finishing move" in PvP battlegrounds. I was able to pick up my black war tiger the other day too, which is cool stuff.

In un-wow-related news, I definitely gave EVE online a try the other day and really like the game so far. It's a lot more cerebral than WoW, and provides a nice change of pace. This isn't to say I'm giving up WoW or anything crazy like that, I've just never been a one game guy. I get kind of antsy when I play the same game forever. If any of my readers are EVE players as well, feel free to look me up, I play under the same name in New Eden.

(edit: Found this sentence over at The Stoppable Force: "Do not buy this, it has a terrible uptime." If you see, he is referencing that same Sigil that I already bought. Oops. So if you find my list, you may want to *not* get that one. I was still using the old one from the starter quests and just wanted something purple. Not the best excuse, I know, but I'll probably still use it for now. Any DK's out there know where I can do better? I would trust Stop as he is a smart guy.)

'Lock 25-Man Gear List

Since I'm off all of this week, I wanted to put up a couple gear lists of "what to buy" from the emblem vendors. Obviously they'll vary based on your situation, but hopefully they give you an idea of what to look for (if you haven't already exhausted the purchased items). If nothing else, it is a personal list for me to keep my head on straight and you all are just being subjected to my inner musings. Besides, being home means that I can actually get on and play during the day.

Soon, my alliance will start 25-man content in earnest, so I figured I'd better prioritize what I want to buy. So here is my 25-man Affliction Warlock Emblem "want" list, in order of priority:

1. Wraps of the Astral Traveler - 60 Emblems (I'm still sporting blue bracers, never having gotten an upgrade from 10-man naxx)
2. Xintor's Expeditionary Boots - 40 Emblems (I believe I'm still sporting the epic WA boots, these would be a large upgrade for me)
   
3. Valorous Plagueheart Shoulderpads - 60 Emblems (An upgrade over my Naxx10 drop, plus I need two pieces for the 4 piece bonus, which would be nice)
4. Band of Channeled Magic - 25 Emblems (only a small upgrade over what I'm wearing)

That about covers it. Obviously, drops may alter this list, but those four pieces give me something to shoot for. I would love to get the tier head piece off KT too, but the T7.10 pieces for both head and shoulder are not an upgrade over what I currently have. Nor are the gloves. I'm not sure that the 7.5 gloves are much better either than the Naxx10 drop that I have.

Is there anything I'm missing that is pretty easy to get? Keep in mind, I do not farm locations for gear. If it drops, I take it. Otherwise, it's about seeing the content for me. That isn't to say I don't run through the same things a lot, just that I don't really do it for myself. I do it because that's what the group wants to do, and I want to run with the group. I've been itching to get to 25-man stuff for a while now, so I'm definitely excited about it. (Though I have been known to PuG a vault or OS, they're just nice fun little instances. The emblems help, but its certainly not "for" the gear.)

Sunday Funday Hats ZOMG!

Now, you know I don't normally post on a Sunday, so this must be something that's gotten me pretty excited.

You see, like everyone else in the world... of Warcraft, I usually just breeze by that little "news" screen and click "play" ASAP. I like to think that I'm normally on top of the Warcraft news, with the amount I read.

However, amidst all of the patch hullabaloo, somehow we missed the gem that I saw today: "Now Available Custom Guild Hats". Hats? Hats! (I realize the link doesn't immediately get you to the hats, because I guess that's how Blizz is routing stuff, so you'll actually have to click on the little hat to see it. Oh and feel free to go backwards and check out your own character, I was just super psyched about mine.) How coolsville is that? The T-shirt will even identify me as a Warlock. We're talking whole new levels of geekdom here for me.

I must have the hat. Yes, you caught me, I'm a hat guy. Some people are shoe guys, some like bed bath and beyond (be careful of the beyond part), I like hats. I have my reasons, so what, wanna fight about it?

Now, just for the record, I am in no way affiliated with the nice people that sell these things. I get no kickbacks, nor do I even care how much they sell. I just think, ZOMG that's cool... in a very nerdy way that I often suppress in public in favor of the more "adult-like" behaviors of theorycraft discussions and boss tactical sessions on the company whiteboard. (I haven't really done that, but since I believe most things in life can be explained through WoW, I've really wanted to. Somehow, I think the other office folk would relate better to WoW than, like, normal math and physics. *shrug*)

Now I just need to convince Fuu that we need to get each other Easter gifts... :-)

Short Friday Update

I had two days this week of dual posts, and I almost took today off, but writing is sort of an addiction for me. Instead, I'm going to try to just make a short update post on my toons of interest.

First of all, what you all come here to read about I'm sure, my Warlock...

Fulg is sitting around in bars a lot, drinking in an effort to kill enough brain cells so that when his rotation gets simplified, it will still seem as difficult. He thinks he'll enjoy the greater mobility offered by the simpler rotation, but is really loathe to get attached to any one aspect of the change until it actually shows up. He fears being disappointed when something doesn't go live.

He doesn't really need a whole lot from 10-man Naxx any more (he has a blue bracer to replace and could use the T7.10 head piece, but the latter is not really a huge upgrade even over the PvP hood). He looks forward to starting 25-man Naxx next week and is slowly and steadily working towards 450 tailoring (at 441) by using the cloth Decedereful sends (and has capped out on Enchanting).

I plan to publish a list of items he wants to buy with 25-man emblems next week when I have some time off. He wonders how in Azeroth he is going to replace the "Mark of the War Prisoner" trinket with 72 hit rating. That's a lot of hit to try and make up elsewhere...

Then, of course, the Death Knight...

Decedereful has been trolling the battlegrounds, participating in feats of PvP noobery. Sometimes she shines, then other times she is completely stunned and pwned by a damn rogue. Sometimes, she even feels like its "night at the slaughtered lamb" when numerous rogues surround her and grind her for honor (a ha). Can someone teach her to l2p dk vs roguish type?

She's so far purchased only a necklace for 38000 honor and got a few drops from 10-man naxx. She found out that you should really level your just-trained 2H mace skill before equipping it and using it in OS. It makes a 1300 DPS difference (I went from 800 DPS to 2100 DPS by just switching weapons for the final boss, so many misses! Duh!). She really wants the PvP cat mount to replace her screaming horse, but is only about halfway there.

She is power leveling Engineering/Mining with the money she makes from random sources of income. She is very afraid of a change in her spell mechanics, as she'll probably have to go back to being a blood princess instead of the ice queen. Both fit her personality, she's just rather enjoyed her walk on the cold side. She's okay with being the "back up" raiding toon and has seen some limited time in both 10 and 25 man naxx, though has been vastly undergeared for it. She also really wants a chopper.

For the most part, I really enjoy playing both toons. My Warlock will always be my main raiding toon. Once I out gear an area, though, the challenge lessens somewhat. It's been refreshing to go a different route with my DK and try to PvP grind for gear. I think I like running dungeons better, but it is a nice change of pace even though I'm certainly not the PvP type. I like to think I'm mildly frustrating to kill :-).

If you're feeling some pre-patch malaise right now, I would recommend getting a second (or more) toon to 80 and choosing one to try and gear up in a completely unorthodox way for you. For me, that was PvP'ing. It's good to at least try other aspects of the game. You don't have to completely force it one way (as I'll still raid on both toons occasionally), but it provides for a nice change of pace.

(If nothing else, I'm hoping you got a laugh out of the graph from graphjams.com. I know in Indiana this is most certainly true. In fact, we often comment that it is "cone storage". That is to say, they don't really have anywhere to keep the cones, so they just rotate them around the state, putting them on different highways just to screw with you. Good times.)

So you think you can Rhyme? Well I sure can't!

So you want Poetry eh?

Battle is Raging
I see a warlock DoTing
Paladin Bubble

You want another one? Absolutely NOT but thanks for asking :)

Back to you Johnny.

Since Jessabelle is so fond of the written language, I will tag her!


PS: I figured if I put a HUGE picture in this post, it would make up for my lack of creativity.

PSS: Also, I only feel that the tagging is fair because Ful was lazy so why can't I be? :)

PSSS: Love you guys!

Poetry, Links, and other Miscellanea

So I was tagged in another meme (does anyone else notice an overabundance of memes lately? I'm pretty sure it has something to do with not having a whole lot to write about due to our collective pre-patch anticipatory anxiety disorder (or PAAD)), this one requiring me to write poetry. I used to write songs back in the day, that counts right? Haiku though. This is one of those Japanese things isn't it? 5-7-5, is that how it goes? Someone needs to refresh me on my creative writing...

Let's see here:
*clears throat*
*Gestures off to the right*
*High hat sets a beat*
Woman.... whooaaaaa man.... wait, that's not right.

Let's try again:

Corrupting your soul,
Afflicting you with shadow,
Run away in fear.

Warlockery - sorta like being hit by a CAR (see what I did there, ha ha).

There don't seem to be any tagging rules, so I will only pass it on to two people (who can choose not to listen if they'd like). First of all, I wanna see if Fuu can write a Haiku, so I'm tagging myself. Secondly, since Abi is already tagged and Laeyla at Blog of Light hasn't been writing as much lately and thus apparently needs a muse, I shall tag her.

Before I go, here are a few tidbits that may help you on your journeys:

1. If you are new to Afflicting, Nibs has done a wonderful job on the raider101 project. This is a place where you can go to learn the "basics" of each class and spec. Nibs was responsible for the affliction section, and, as usual, she does a wonderful job with it. New or old to the spec... check it out.
2. The trainer for 2h Maces is in Ironforge. You CAN train 2h maces as a death knoob. Yes, I just now learned this. I'm hoping others may save face by reading this :-).
3. You have to skill up something you just train (as a 'lock, when do I ever hit anything or care what my weapon skill is). Low skill means low DPS. In OS, I was doing 800 DPS with my new awesome mace, so I popped back on my axe (which is fully skilled out) and jumped straight up to 2100 DPS. Talk about gimping yourself. On one hand, I expected it to happen as the skillups for maces rolled across my screen, but I guess I didn't think it was THAT huge. It is.
4. Can someone tell me when is the "appropriate" time to use Army of the Dead in a raid? I'm curious about this because it always seems to be such a clusterf... (when you're not the tank especially).
5. I will miss my frost DPS spec when the patch hits :-(. IT, HB, FS facerolling ftw right now.
6. My warlock is too geared for 10-man Naxx and we start 25-man next week. That is why he's been hanging out in the bars so much lately. 10-man Naxx bores him.

That is all from this corner of the lockosphere.

(Yeah, I made that up earlier in a comment and used it here, so what, wanna fight about it?)

Warlock Resolutions

I, Fulguralis, vow to no longer do the following:

• Shadowflame small defenseless critters.
• Openly celebrate when allies in a dungeon bite it.
• Berate my Imp in public.
• Play fetch with my Felpup using live things.
• Set fire to the orphanage in SW.
• Criticize that crazy Paladin's pet collection.
• Spit on Horde after pwn'ing them.
• Enjoy the questionable WoW torture quests.
• Shadowflame other players and be disappointed when they don't die and thus I can't openly celebrate.
• Hit on belf chicks even though I can't speak their language.
• Prolong duels by fearing without putting DoTs up, just to annoy the Mage.
• Scoff at mages for no reason other than they're mages.
• Be so openly cocky.
• Create mount envy by riding around on my Dreadsteed and laughing at the rest of you lesser classes.
• Cut myself to cast extra spells, or just to annoy that silly Priest.
• Take my Succubus out to the bars with me... somehow I think that always ends up playing in her favor.
• Drink during dungeons to make them more interesting.
• Wish flame would take hold of all those damned talking, walking trees. I mean, they are wood after all.
• Only cast detect invisibility AFTER a shade has revealed itself in Naxxramas.
• Gleefully curse in public, both vocally and... otherwise.
• Use my elder's moonstones to freak out all of the idiots waiting impatiently for the portal to Wintergrasp to open (only because I have no more).
• Put up a summoning stone and then run away because: "hey, I did my part."
• Open up with a Soul Fire on Gothik the harvester because I can finally find an excuse to cast it.
• Hate the rest of that fight because the stupid things die too quickly.
• Laugh when the green flames consume someone, and feel a bit envious that my flames aren't green.
• Use my portal at the bank because I'm too lazy to run back out.
• Try not to be so evil when....

Wait... who the hell am I kidding. I'm a Warlock, biatches! April Fool's THIS!

*Shadowflame in yo' face*

*Turns to the right*

Give me some sugah, baby.

*Whip Crack*

*Heads towards bar*