New Tank Hotfixes

August 17th, 2011 by Setta

So it’s been a while since I’ve said anything here but the newest hotfix is worth mentioning.

As far as our progression is going, we’re still doing well and will have Lord Rhyolith in the next week.  Great job team!

On to the hotfixes:

  • Threat
    • Threat generation for all tanks has been increased to 500%, up from 300%. This applies to warriors in Defensive Stance, death knights in Blood Presence, druids in Bear Form, and paladins with Righteous Fury.
    • Vengeance should no longer be generated when damage is fully absorbed by damage shields. When the shield breaks from damage or damage is partially absorbed, the amount of Vengeance generated is equal to the full amount of damage taken (including the damage absorbed.)
    • More information can be found in our latest Dev Watercooler.

These changes while simple are amazing in my mind.  Some folks really like threat as a mechanic, but as a five year tank veteran, I hate it.  To be honest, threat is either there or not.  It’s not a terribly exciting mechanic:  If you pull threat, you’re dead.  If not, you live.  Tanks, after the initial 30 seconds, have almost no chance of actually losing threat anyway so it’s just that first 30 seconds that ever matter.

As said in the Watercooler discussion, threat has quickly become a stat that most folks don’t pay attention to and really is an outdated concept.  Overall I’m looking forward to the change that will make tanking more focused on what we do: absorbing hits from the boss and mitigating damage.

Also, some interesting patch notes for a hotfix – Rhyolith was nerfed bigtime.

Lord Rhyolith

  • The explosion damage radius of each Magma Meteor just before Lord Rhyolith should now more closely match their spell effect visuals.
  • Volcanoes should no longer emit plumes of smoke while they are dormant.
  • Concussive Stomp should no longer knock nearby players back.
  • Magma Flow lines are now 30 yards long, down from 40 yards.
  • Rhyolith now activates volcanoes less often on normal difficulty.
  • Stepping on an active volcano now removes 16 stacks of armor, up from 10.

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Let’s Talk Gearing: Patch 4.2

June 22nd, 2011 by Setta

Let’s talk gear shop.  In 4.2 we’re going to have several new ways of acquiring gear, above and beyond the natural collection of all Tier 11 gear through Justice Points.

First off:  Complete Hyjal Quests. This is mandatory in order to continue on with the 4.2 conversion.  Make sure you’ve done all the quests here so you’re not caught off-guard.

The next part consists of dailies combined with quest choices.  It breaks down into this:

  1. Complete Stage 1 by doing all six quests and gathering 20 MotWT (Marks of the World Tree) to complete Calling for Reinforcements.  There are three daily quests at this stage, granting 4 MotWT per day.  You will need a minimum of three days to complete this stage.
  2. Complete Stage 2 by doing all three quests and gathering 150 MotWT to unlock additional dailies from either The Shadow Wardens or Druids of the Talon.  Which one you choose is up to you, in the end to advance to the vendors you will need to complete both.   There are seven daily quests at this stage (including previous stage), granting 14 MoTWT per day.  You will need a minimum of ten days to complete this stage.
  3. Use The Shadow Wardens or Druids of the Talon to gather 150 MotWT in order to unlock the other half of quests.  This will take less time as either one will open up several additional quests resulting 22 MotWT per day.  Additional MotWT can be gathered from Anren and Tholo and/or the Fire Lasher dailies.  You will need a minimum of seven days to complete this section.
  4. At this point you have will have completed both the Druids and Wardens sections and now have the choice of opening up a vendor of your choice.  These quests (Calling the Ancients, Additional Armaments and Filling the Moonwell) each require 125 MotWT.  With the previous sections you can earn 30+ MotWT per day.  You will need a minimum of 5 days to earn a vendor.
  5. Enjoy the vendor loot you have unlocked!

Gear Through Crafting

Let’s talk weapons.  In 4.2, there will be a weapon available for every class.  This means if you don’t have a weapon then you’ll have one going into 4.2.  Likely these patterns will be sold by the new vendors in 4.2.  Let’s see how these will affect our raid, noting that everyone should be upgrading because the costs involved in doing so can be gathered prior to the patch actually going out.  Hunters please notice you have two weapons you’ll want rather than only one.  Everyone should start gathering for these items.

Tanks

Setta: Unbreakable Guardian

Donavaan: Masterwork Elementium Deathblade

Healers

Sekikaze: Lightforged Elementium Hammer

Brewna: Lightforged Elementium Hammer

Keary: Lightforged Elementium Hammer

DPS

Santile: Brainsplinter

Raveion: Masterwork Elementium Spellblade

Jaqulyn: Extreme-Impact Hole Puncher and Witch-Hunter’s Harvester

Ainimas: Extreme-Impact Hole Puncher and Witch-Hunter’s Harvester

Ravik: Masterwork Elementium Deathblade

Gear Through Vendors (WowHead Link)

With those out of the way, we can talk about gear obtained through the dailies by unlock the vendors and purchasing them.  Each vendor first requires the player to go through a quest chain that will ultimately lead to spending 125 Marks of the World Tree on a specific vendor.  All vendors can be unlocked, but which comes first is the question.

Blacksmiths and Engineers: You will want to unlock Damek Bloombeard (Quest: Additional Armaments) in order to get all the plans / schematics so our guild can get the weapons we need.

Tanks (Setta & Donavaan): You will want to first unlock Varlan Highbough (Quest: Calling the Ancients) as this will unlock two tank rings and a tanking relic.

Caster DPS (Raveion): You will want to first unlock Damek Bloombeard (Quest: Additional Armaments) as it will provide two pieces.  Each other vendor will give one piece.

Caster Healer (Keary, Brewna and Sekikaze): Keary and Brewna have the choice between Damek Bloombeard (Quest: Additional Armaments) and Ayla Shadowstorm (Quest: Filling the Moonwell) as both award two pieces.  Sekikaze will want Damek Bloombeard (Quest: Additional Armaments) as he will provide three pieces (along with the patterns).

Ranged DPS (Jaqulyn and Ainimas): Any of the three will work as they all provide one piece of gear.

Melee DPS (Santile and Ravik): Santile can choose any of the three as they all provide one piece.  Ravik will want either Damek Bloombeard (Quest: Additional Armaments) or Varlan Highbough (Quest: Calling the Ancients) as they both provide two pieces.

Gear Through Valor Points (MMO-Champion Link)

In this sense, everyone needs the same amount of VP to complete their goals:  10,500 VP.  This will take a minimum 11 weeks to obtain all this gear with the current weekly cap.

Pieces obtainable through VP

  • Tier 12 Chest (2200 VP)
  • Tier 12 Legs (2200 VP)
  • Tier 12 Hands (1650 VP)
  • Wrists (1250 VP)
  • Neck (1250 VP)
  • Finger (1250 VP)
  • Relic / Thrown / Wand (700 VP).

Gear Through Avengers of Hyjal Reputation (MMO-Champion Link)

Each spec can gain a Ring, Trinket, Waist and Back piece from the reputation gain in that order from Exalted to Friendly.  This reputation can only be gained within the Firelands Raid and all pieces ore 378 with the exception of the ring which is 391.  Naturally spellcasters can double up on the trinket and ring options if they find them suitable as one is DPS and one is spirit.

 

That about sums up this post!  I know it was a long one, hope it was helpful.  The rest of the gear can be obtained through raiding Firelands directly.  I will create a post entailing all of the gear for each person obtainable and where from when I have time.

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Nefarian Down! Midsummer Begins.

June 21st, 2011 by Setta

Nefarian is down!  That leaves us at 11/12 bosses dead, only one left is Al’Akir!  We’ll be smashing against him on Monday next week.  Be prepared, look up the fight!  Great job everyone on killing the brother and sister pair.

Midsummer

In other news, Midsummer has arrived.  For those of you curious, yes this means new equipment from the Frost Lord.  The new loot is below:

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    Cho’Gall is down!

    June 2nd, 2011 by Setta

    Bastion of Twilight is in the bag!  Nef is next!

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    • Posted in FTC News

    Raid Gearing Updated!

    May 31st, 2011 by Setta

    Hello everyone,

    Just a note to say I’ve updated the gearing lists for everyone.  They can be found here.  The list is also now a permanent section of the webpage under the main menu.  I’ll keep this updated, as we move into tier 12 I’ll update this with which bosses drop what gear.  Fun times ahead!

    ~Setta

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    Ascendant Council Down!

    May 17th, 2011 by Setta

    That leaves only the major last bosses left in the instances! Go team!

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    Boss Kill Photos

    May 15th, 2011 by Setta

    Images of some of our latest boss kills: Omnitron Defense System, Atramedes and Chimaeron!



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    Excellent Cho’Gall Strategy Guide

    May 12th, 2011 by Setta

    Cho'Gall Strategy Guide

    You can find an excellent layout to the Cho’Gall fight here, check it out!  I’m honestly thinking this will be easier than Nefarian for us after we kill Capt’n Planet.

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    Druid Tier 12 Models

    May 10th, 2011 by Setta

    Hey all,

    Druid Tier 12 Models are up!  Check them out and their 3D model here.

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    • Posted in WoW News

    Raid Min/Max

    May 10th, 2011 by Setta

    Hello everyone,

    I thought I’d spend some time looking at everyone’s gear and putting together a list of what items people need from the new heroics to be fully in epics.  I favored easier items to get, such as reputations and professions when applicable.  So, let’s get right to it!

    Note:  If anyone wants to find the lists I got these from, you can find the armor here and the weapons here.  Simply replace the stat weighting system with your class / spec to have it generate the list for you.

    Edit — Donavaan has been added!

    Hunters

    Ainimas

    Wrists: Wristguards of the Predator (Akil’zon)

    Weapon: Jin’do’s Verdict (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Mythka

    Head: Headdress of Sharpened Vision (Daakara)

    Neck: Amulet of the Watcher (Bloodlord Mandokir)

    Wrists: Wristguards of the Predator (Akil’zon)

    Legs: Lightning-Charged Legguards (Valor Points, Tier 11)

    Ring: Arlokk’s Signet (High Priestess Kilnara)

    Weapon: Jin’do’s Verdict (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Jaqulyn

    Shoulder: Headdress of Sharpened Vision (Daakara)

    Chest: Lightning-Charged Tunic (Valor Points, Tier 11)

    Belt: Corded Viper Belt (Leatherworking)

    Boots: Moccasins of Verdurous Glooms (Valor Points)

    Wrists: Wristguards of the Predator (Akil’zon)

    Trinket: Fluid Death (Valor Points)

    Weapon: Jin’do’s Verdict (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Ranged: Mandokir’s Tribute (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Rogues

    Santile

    Neck: Amulet of the Watcher (Bloodlord Mandokir)

    Shoulder: Tusked Shoulderpads (Daakara)

    Wrists: Amani’shi Bracers (Jan’alai)

    Cloak: Viewless Wings (Valor Points)

    Weapon: Twinblade of the Hakkari (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Off-Hand: Twinblade of the Hakkari (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Death Knights

    Ravik

    Head: Roaring Mask of Bethekk (High Priestess Kilnara)

    Shoulder: Skullpiercer Pauldrons (Daakara)

    Boots: Woe Breeder’s Boots (Valor Points)

    Ring: Band of Bees (Valor Points)

    Trinket: License to Slay (Valor Points)

    Relic: Relic of Aggramar (Valor Points)

    Donavaan

    Head: Spiritshield Mask (Nalorakk)

    Neck: Amulet of Protection (Gri’lek)

    Gloves: Magma Plated Handguards (Valor Points)

    Ring: Ring of the Battle Anthem (Valor Points)

    Relic: Relic of Khaz’goroth (Valor Points)

    Mages

    Raveion

    Head: Collar of Bones (Daakara)

    Neck: Lightning Flash Pendant (Wildhammer Clan)

    Shoulder: Jan’alai’s Spaulders (Jan’alai)

    Chest: Firelord’s Robes (Valor Points)

    Boots: Desert Walker Sandals (Ramkahen)

    Bracers: Wristwraps of Departed Spirits (Halazzi)

    Ring 1: Shimmerclaw Band (Halazzi) or Ring of the Boy Emperor (Archeology)

    Ring 2: Band of Secret Names (Valor Points)

    Trinket 1: Tyrande’s Favorite Doll (Archeology)

    Trinket 2: Core of Ripeness (Valor Points)

    Cloak: Haunt of Flies (Valor Points)

    Weapon: Legacy of Arlokk (Jin’do the Godbreaker), 2 Alternatives Via Archeology

    Ranged: Touch of Discord (Bloodlord Mandokir)

    Paladins

    Setta

    Neck: Amulet of Protection (Gri’lek)

    Ring: Ring of the Battle Anthem (Valor Points)

    Trinket: Impatience of Youth (Tol Barad)

    Relic: Relic of Khaz’goroth (Valor Points)

    Sekikaze

    Helm: Plumed Medicine Helm (Zanzil)

    Cloak: Heavenly Breeze (Valor Points)

    Druids

    Keary

    Head: Amani Headdress (Daakara)

    Shoulder: Feathers of Akil’zon (Akil’zon)

    Chest: Stormrider’s Robes (Valor Points)

    Boots: Fading Violet Sandals (Valor Points)

    Bracers: Armbands of the Bear Spirit (Nalorakk)

    Ring: Twined Band of Flowers (Valor Points)

    Trinket: Core of Ripeness (Valor Points)

    Cloak: Heavenly Breeze (Valor Points)

    Shamans

    Brewnah

    Head: Mask of Restless Spirits (Daakara)

    Shoulder: Spiritbinder Spaulders (Zanzil)

    Chest: Tunic of the Raging Elements (Valor Points) or Twilight Scale Chestguard (Leatherworking)

    Belt: Sash of Anguish (High Priestess Kilnara) or Stormleather Sash (Leatherworking)

    Boots: Earthmender’s Boots (Earthen Ring)

    Bracers: Shadowmender Wristguards (Halazzi)

    Gloves: Handwraps of the Raging Elements (Valor Points)

    Ring: Band of Secret Names (Valor Points)

    Trinket: Core of Ripeness (Valor Points)

    Weapon: Amani Scepter of Rites (Daakara)

    Offhand: Elementium Stormshield (Blacksmithing)

    Relic: Relic of Eonar (Valor Points)

    Priests

    Zenatari

    Head: The Hexxer’s Mask (Jin’do the Godbreaker)

    Shoulder: Claw-Fringe Mantle (High Priestess Kilnara)

    Pants: Breeches of Mended Nightmares (Tailoring)

    Boots: Slippers of Moving Waters (Valor Points)

    Ring: Band of Secret Names (Valor Points)

    Cloak: Heavenly Breeze (Valor Points)

    Ranged: Touch of Discord (Bloodlord Mandokir)

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