Epic upgrade IRL

Before:



After:

When we're not madly AoEing, my new computer gives me up to 70-80fps in Ulduar, an instant (rather than - literally - 5-10min) load-in time for Dalaran and the ability to run (and tab out to) other programs running in the background without the 5min wait.

I've also discovered that my character's shadow isn't actually a small dark circle on the ground, which was rather disconcerting at first, but it's definitely growing on me - my drake flapping against snow was a good couple of minutes' entertainment.

Hooray for a better WoW experience!

(In case you're wondering - the settings for my old computer are fine for raiding; y0u won't miss any important boss spell effects. You could even lower the settings further than what I had)

To die or not to die

When I started in WoW, there were many reasons I rolled a hunter rather than any other class.

A pet. A ranger. Shadowmeld. Sylvanas Windrunner.

One reason I didn't was Feign Death.

However, once I did train the spell, it was like a drug with no side effects. One that made you invincible.

Soloing group quests? Have a go and if it doesn't work out, Feign Death and start over. Aggro too many mobs? Feign Death and run away. Dazed off a mount? Feign Death, re-mount and continue. Spot a herb? Let my pet get aggro, gather the herb, trap the mob, Feign Death, mount up and get the hell out.

Unfortunately, my alts, which aren't hunters, don't have Feign Death.... and boy, do they pay for it.

I think, though, I'm starting to break free of my hunter habits and play classes as they should be played. For example, I'm finally confident enough on my mage to pull a group of melee mobs and AoE them down rather than killing them one at a time. My warlock has less downtime than my hunter while farming. Even my druid rarely dies after learning hotkeys for Swiftmend and Nature's Swiftness.

Of course, some things I still can't handle - I tried several times to solo Princess Tempestria on my druid, but always ran out of mana and health by the time I got her adds down and had to give up (I'm still certain it can be done; I'm just not as capable with the class yet... and my unusual spec probably didn't help either) - but my alts don't die nearly as much as when I started.

So, I'm happy I've weaned myself off the addiction. Feign Death isn't a drug any more, it's a car.... and if I'm on a character that can't drive, at least I've trained myself to take the bus!

Hunter elite soloing

For years, I'd followed the Hunter vs. World series, where Dysphoria, a Kiwi hunter on Frostmourne, managed to solo dungeons that technically shouldn't be soloable.

Unfortunately, Dysphoria retired from WoW, and although there were (and still are) forum threads floating around where hunters post about their epic soloing feats and how they'd managed it, I thought that was the end of videos.

Not so.

Haiatu from Nathrazim (going by the name Xhellhawkx to post vids) has managed to solo quite a few dungeons, including most of Molten Core, AQ20 and heroic Magister's Terrace.

Sure, it lacks the story and machinima quality of Dysphoria's Hunter vs World series, but it's nice to know there are still hunters out there that act as inspiration for the rest of us to try soloing old world content!

If only it was better than my gun....

I managed to snag Avalanche, a rather pretty bow (and a lovely name to boot!), from an Ulduar 10man PuG.

Unfortunately it's still a downgrade from the loud and obnoxious Giant's Bane (from Ulduar 25man) I'm toting at the moment, so I won't be using it.

Here's hoping 25man Auriaya will give me Siren's Cry (which is the same model and the only upgrade left besides the 25man Thorim hard mode Skyforge Crossbow) soon, although I still like the colours of Avalanche better!

Beware the wolves

...especially the ones from Elwynn Forest.

This one apparently made the trek all the way to Exodar to slaughter my poor Lamb. No wonder I have so many minipets - the animations from these are totally worth the price!

(For the record, I have 81 so far, which is well over the 75 required for the Achievement)

I should zoom in more often

Zooming out is great for seeing incoming damage, flame walls and potential gankers.

Zooming in, however, appears to Pwn.

Gearing up for Ulduar.... without raiding?!

My guild has been running low on numbers for raids lately; some days we're forced to run 10mans.

With that in mind, I started wondering - if, hypothetically, a brand-new, guildless 80 wanted to join our guild... could they gear up sufficiently in a short amount of time to join us in Ulduar *without* having done any raids whatsoever?

Rules

• No 10man/25man raids and no Emblems of Valor
• No heroic dungeon drops (said hunter has incredibly bad luck).
• No Arena (said hunter doesn't have partners).
• No BoE items from Ulduar drops/patterns (server isn't selling them yet)
• Average enchants/gems (not necessarily best for the slot, but a decent choice)
• Phyllixia's Talents and Glyphs (BM, and NOT the highest DPS BM raiding spec)

Gear

• Silvery Silvan Stave - Massacre
• Titan-Forged Chain Helm of Triumph - Arcanum of Torment, Relentless Earthsiege Diamond, Bright Scarlet Ruby
• Pendant of the Outcast Hero
• Hateful Gladiator's Chain Spaulders - Lesser Inscription of the Axe, Wicked Monarch Topaz
• Ice Striker's Cloak - Major Agility
• Titan-Forged Chain Armor of Triumph - Super Stats, Bright Scarlet Ruby, Wicked Monarch Topaz
• Slime Stream Bands - Greater Assault, Infused Twilight Opal
• Rusted-Link Spiked Gauntlets - Crusher, Bright Scarlet Ruby
• Vereesa's Silver Chain Belt - Infused Twilight Opal, Bright Scarlet Ruby (with Eternal Belt Buckle)
• Giantmaim Legguards - Icescale Leg Armor
• Titan-Forged Sabatons of Triumph - Greater Assault, Wicked Monarch Topaz
• Inscribed Band of the Kirin Tor
• Surge Needle Ring
• Mirror of Truth
• Darkmoon Card: Greatness
• Blunderbuss of Khaz Modan - Heartseeker Scope

Required:

• 50x Argent Tournament Champion's Seal
• 80x Wintergrasp Mark of Honor
• 105x Emblem of Heroism
• 49600 Honor Points
• Honoured with The Sons of Hodir
• Revered with Knights of the Ebon Blade
• Heck of a lot of gold

Comparison (using the Hunter DPS spreadsheet linked on the side bar):

Hypothetical BM hunter fully raid buffed - 5331.35 DPS, 25980 HP, 12341 Mana
Phyllixia's stats at the start of Ulduar - 6004. 07 DPS, 24879 HP, 14156 Mana

You have to admit - it's pretty close. Not to mention, if I switched the hypothetical hunter to a top DPS spec (Survival, with appropriate Glyphs and best-in-slot enchants/gems), it'd bump up the DPS at least by a few hundred.

Bottom line? Whether a guild will take you or not is another story... but hypothetically, it's definitely possible to gear up sufficiently for Ulduar without setting foot in a raid dungeon at all - and theoretically can be done in 2-3 weeks!

It's like being famous...

I'm the type of hunter that exclaims over guild chat about unusual pets I've spotted in town.

First sighting of a hunter with Gondria, amusingly named wolf, rare-skinned parrot - all of these merit a comment, although I've never directly whispered or made any indication to the owner themselves that I was admiring their pet.

Which was why, I suppose, the attention paid to my own rare pet caught me by surprise.

Pats, cheers, whispers, all from random people - and I'm sure Spirit Beast owners would have it worse.

Not that I'm complaining, of course.... I'm happy with my slimy companion, both in looks and in utility, and I feel nothing but sympathy when I'm forced to tell disappointed hunters that you can't tame them any more.

It does, however, make me glad that I'm not a member of an elite raiding guild like Ensidia - I'm surprised they manage to play at all through all the attention from fans.

Then again... it probably does have it's perks.

(On a side note, that particular blogger, Kungen, is one of the guild leaders of Ensidia and surprisingly funny. Even if you hate Ensidia and everything it stands for, I'd recommend his WotLK levelling story, starting here, for some fairly decent amusement)

OMGBUFF!

Breaking news today - hunters got a buff!

No, it's not April 1st.

Details are in this thread on the Blizzard forums, but if you have a high-end ranged weapon (including the Naxx25 gun Envoy of Mortality, Arena weapons and, of course, Ulduar weapons), expect a DPS upgrade.

Woohoo!

Pet control from vehicles

Vehicles are great.

They're fun, different, and you either get a vehicle bar with appropriate abilities, or you get extra protection while you DPS.

One thing that I dislike about vehicles (but something I had resigned myself to) was the fact that when you get into a vehicle, your pet disappears.

...not anymore, perhaps?

This hasn't happened consistently; I've also had pets disappear entirely (as if you're mounting up), or the pet *bar* disappearing but leaving the pet under your control.

I'm not sure if it's a bug, but either way if Blizz is making the effort to allow us to control our pets while being a passenger on Demolishers, I'm a fan.

Especially if I happen to be BM spec.