Mages: Arcane DPS

Since 3.1 I've noticed a lot more mages moving into Arcane territory. I dug up some info, looked at the math, and spoke with a couple of top DPS mages who have a general consensus about the Arcane build:

Arcane Spec: 57/3/11
Major Glyphs: Arcane Blast, Molten Armor/ Mage Armor, Arcane Missiles

Rotation:
1) Your regular rotation, unless severely limited by mana, should ALWAYS be ABx3-AM-Abar, REGARDLESS of missile barrage proc. Remember to use Abar before the 5th tick of AM.

2) Your stacked cooldown rotation, unless severely limited by mana, is spam AB, use AM-Abar ONLY when missile barrage procs. Remember to use Abar before the 5th tick of AM.

3) You should try to stack your cooldowns with heroism but not at the expense of missing the 2nd use of any cooldown. You should always stack IV and AP together.

ShysteChris....failtank

So I've been wanting to branch out my role in the guild, and be able to MT or OT when needed. As more and more people join, I think it will be beneficial to be able to successfully run 2, 10-man groups to get players some gear. The thing is, I've never tanked any Heroic Dungeons...

Last night I attempted to tank.
And those of you that actually know me, know how much of a hardcore DPSer I am. The 2 really don't mix. My tank set mainly consists of blues that I've picked up from heroics, and a couple of epics that I was able to get with Hero Badges... but no dual-spec for me...so I was still in DPS Unholy; needless to say, H UP was quite a disaster. I guess it didn't help that I was spec'd into Subversion. =(

So....my goal as of late is to collect the few hundred more gold I need to dual spec--and run with a more TPS tank build.

When I do, I'll probably try out:


Tank Spec: 12/51 /8


If I find that I can live w/out the CD of DnD from Morbidity...I'll prob move 3 points into Acclimation for the resistance.

EoE: Malygos

So I think we're gonna try 10-man Malygos again tonight. Last time didn't go so well. =(
Kal and I went over some strategies...and I really think we can take down that ugly dragon tonight.

I'll break down the basics here, then jump over to BossKillers for the details.


Phase 1:
We tank Maly, all dps behind--wailin' that ass. He whirlwinds us up, we drop, and continue to spank.

Red: Tank Blue: Malygos Green: Raid

Phase 2:
Maly flies up, everyone runs from bubble to bubble, and melee dps use the flying discs to fly up and attack the casters.


Phase 3:
Vehicle fight in the air.
DPS- use ability 1, 1, then 2 (at 85 pwr) if you become targeted, at end of Maly's cast hit shield
Heals-use ability 3, 3, 4

How to be a Better Player

I read an interesting post today from a Guild Leader/MT that was titled, "How to be an Ensidia player."

For those of you that don't know-Ensidia is the #1 Raiding Guild in the world. They took the honors of world-first Yogg Saron kill, and have some of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Anyone that raids, or is interested in end-game, would generally jump at the chance to play with the best. Sadly, many of us are not quite on that level. So this post dedicated to each of us finding our way there:

How to be a Better Player

1. Research. Research. Research.-- Find a site you can trust, with members that are interested in bettering themselves. Where methods are tried and tested, and where members have accomplished information to share.

2. Ask for Criticism-- And be able to handle it. Do you know a better (DK, Mage, Hunter, Pally [insert class here])? What are they doing different? What are they doing the same? Keep an open mind, and listen to what they have to say. See if what they're telling you matches up to #1 (above).

3. Be the Best [insert class here]--This doesn't mean acting like the best, or holding a few hundred dps over someone's head. It means knowing your class inside and out. Can you re-spec without looking at a cheatsheet? Do you know why/how your talents compliment eachother the way they do? Learn all the fights, be able to take control of your situation. Being the best doesn't just mean spamming buttons for a spec and rotation that someone else has laid out for you. The best players know why their rotations work, and are able to improvise during fast fights and unexpected situations.

4100K DPS??!!

You. Read. That. Right.


Last night, I came up on a couple of Naxx-10 fights pushing the 4K DPS mark! Little O' Shyste... 4100 dps on Loatheb, 4k on Patchwerk, and 3900 on Gluth... Man, I really need to remember the screenshots.

With all the changes that 3.1 brought about--there may be slight change to the way your talents play and interact with eachother. Your favorite spec pre-3.1 may not be the same, even if at first it appears to be.

If you're looking to perform better in the DPS arena, try researching your class--there is tons of useful information out there. Visit a trusted site, and spend the gold to re-spec into an updated build. It may improve your DPS more than you think. =)

Note: The ElitistJerks forums are class specific, and are tailored for every play style. They've done the research, so you can trust the info. It's a good place to start, if you don't have a trusted site.

Blood DPS

So for those of you DK's that like dps'ing in blood, here are the builds for 3.1

For new DK raiders, Blood will be a definite improvement to dps, as well as be more forgiving in the survivability area.

The Specs:
DRW Build: 51/2/18
UB Build: 50/0/21

The Rotation:
(1) DS-IT-PS-HS-HS-DCx2
(2) HSx2-DS-HSx2-DCx2


Notes on builds:
There's not much difference between builds. DRW for short bursty fights, UB for sustained DPS and AoE. There's a reason why these builds are cookie cutter, so I wouldn't play with the talents really. No bloodworms because they eat AoE heals...
T8 gear is an upgrade for blood over T7.5 (4 pc.)

X2-002 Deconstructor.... 4% ??!!

I have to say, even though we did not get deconstructor down last night, we perfected our method, everyone lived to enrage, and 4ook health left on the boss isnt too shabby. A little more DPS and we're unstoppable.

I myself am quite proud of pulling 3.4k dps and 22% overall damage =]


Gonna grab some Naxx-10 gear for the guys in need tomorrow, and then head back into Ulduar to kill whatever the hell we want to. =P

Val'anyr Armory Tag

So here it is...up for a short time, and now taken off the armory.

Hunter: SV DPS

Now, I'm not gonna pretend that I know the hunter inside and out, but have found these builds to be top-end dps builds for 3.1


Top DPS spec: 0/15/56
Pet Talents: Ferocity DPS

Major Glyphs: Explosive Shot, Serpent Sting, Kill Shot
Rotation:

• Serpent Sting
• Black Arrow
• Explosive Shot
• Multi shot
• Steady Shot
• Steady Shot

For reasoning behind the specific rotation, visit the huntersunion
Try it out...feedback always welcome =)

Epic Fail

Our foray into Ulduar-10 tonight was less than stellar. After wiping the floor with Flame Leviathan, we couldn't manage to stay alive for razorscale, or get past the adds for Ignis   =(

We've all studied the fights, Tanks and Heals are Server Bests, DPS was on point...we just couldnt do it. Tomorrow's another day though--and I'm not leaving until that dragon is dead, Ignis is begging for mercy, and the Deconstructor is a pile of bolts.

Did manage to loot a necklace from Leviathan, though.

Attn: ALL RAIDERS!

http://www.bosskillers.com/

I just discovered this site today....

This is a must-read for anyone wanting to raid, or see end-game.

Maps. Strategies. Detailed Fights. This place has it all =)


Check it out.

Unholy DPS

I haven't always been an Unholy DK. Truth be told, i actually used to hate it. I levelled in frost, and then dps'd in blood after dinging 80. I only went Unholy a couple months back for the perma-ghoul, and the raid buff...but after doing so, I can't imagine going back.

Unholy has some major advantages in PvE DPS. Perma-ghoul, shadow damage, and the scaling is ridiculous after 3.1--we actually got buffed. And, until the frost tree gets a makeover, Unholy spec has been tested to be the highest DPS output over Blood (but only slightly).


The Spec: 12/0/59

Major Glyphs: Glyph of Ghoul, Scourge Strike, Dark Death
Minor Glyphs: Horn or Winter, Raise Dead, Pestilence

Rotation:
(1) IT-PS-BS-BS-SS- RP (Runic Pwr Dump) UB/DC
(2) SS-SS-SS- RP(DCx2)

Unholy is about a proiority list of attacks. Diseases should be up always. Unholy Blight should be refreshed every 20 seconds, and if using an attack will put you over the Runic power cap, fire off a Death Coil first.

Now, because SS glyph can refresh diseases, a third rotation is possible
(1A) SS-BS-BS-SS - RP

If you're having problems keeping track of diseases, I recommend Runewatch... =)

Remember: Keep diseases tickin, and don't go over RP. /FTW


*Side Note*
Currently, T7.5 is best in slot for Unholy... that may change with updates, but for now, keep that 4pc bonus.

DK: Stat Weights/Gemming/Common Q's

I've done quite a bit of research in these areas... luckily there are a few people who have done the math for us, so I'm just gonna simplify everything here. If you have any questions though, please don't hesitate to ask =)

Hit and Expertise Ratings

Hit and expertise are important, because if you're not landing your attacks, you're not making the most of your dps, or threat (if you're a tank).

Melee Hit Cap is 262.3 (8%)

26 Expertise Skill is Exp. Cap

Its fairly difficult to expertise cap in heroic gear, even if you're gemmed. You should shoot for a minimum of 15 skill for dps, and make sure your dps'ing behind the boss. Tanks can always benefit until fully capped.

Any hit above 8% directly benefits our spells... Spell hit cap is 17%. Our spells include:

1. Blood Boil
2. Blood Plague
3. Corpse Explosion
4. Death and Decay
5. Death Coil
6. Icy Touch
7. Frost Fever
8. Howling Blast
9. Pestilence
10. Strangulate
11. Unholy Blight

Obtaining 8% hit rating is NOT optional.

DK Stat Weights

This listing is from a DPS standpoint...

Hit > Expertise > Strength > Crit > AP > Agi > Haste > APR

Since most builds are going to scale with strength, stacking strength and crit will be very important once your hit is satisfied. With the new APR (armor pentration) factor, blood dps may choose to swap APR over attack power...I'll need to see some more numbers to be sure though.

Gemming

• Bold Scarlet Ruby
  
• Chaotic Skyflare Diamond
  
• Bold Dragon’s Eye
  

Do you really need the socket bonus? If not, gem for strength. Always. =)

Ulduar: The Bosses

Hi guys!

I can't seem to post info on the guilds site during the day, so I'm going to streamline some info here...eventually, you'll be able to see the vids right on my page--hopefully next week.

Raid Make-up for Ulduar10:

• 2 Tanks
• 3 Heals
• 5 DPS (preferrably more ranged) need a min. of 2k avg dps.
  
  
  
  FLAME LEVIATHAN
  
  This is the first encounter in Ulduar, and its a vehicle Fight. There are:
  
• Tanks
• Seige Catapults
• Choppers (motorcycles)

How the Fight Works:

Melee will load into spot #2 of the seige vehicles, and be prepared to load themselves into catapults when raid calls for it.

Tanks will use tank vehicles to tank and damage as much as they can...they have a shield, so they can stay in close proximity. Leviathon switches targets every 30 seconds at random, so seige catapults should stay as far away as possibly, while spamming their basic hurl boulder ability.

When ready. melee loads themselves into catapult, and drivers launch them toward leviathan. They dps turrets until both are gone. Melee will then be launched into the air and parachute down. Choppers run in, scoop them up, use the heal ability on the players, and return them to the seige catapults. Repeat until turrets 3 and 4 are down, and then a button appears for melee to use. Button press activates shutdown, causing Leviathan to shut down for 10 seconds and take 50% more damage.

On Shutdown, seige vehicles spam their Hurl Pyrite ability until all gone, or until Leviathan wakes. If you haven't dps'd enough, you may need to collect more pyrite for another round =)

IGNIS THE FURNACE MASTER

Ignis Trash: Tank against wall, melee run when tornado is cast.

This one is a tank battle. Basically, Ignis will spawn adds throughout the fight that add to his damage by 15% each. One tank will tank ignis while the other gathers the adds, runs them over the scorched ground, and then kites them into the water. Once the adds are taken to the water, they will explode dealing about 22k damage, so whoever's tanking needs to be kept up pretty well. Other than that, raid needs to watch for the other abilities, and dps the hell out of him.

Ignis' Special Abilities:

• Flame Jets-- shoot up from ground dealing 8-9k fire dmg, and interrupts spell casting for 8 seconds...deals 8k dmg per second for 8 sec's
• Scorch-- 30 yd radius in front of Ignis; use this on adds
• Slag Pot-- Random target is thrown into slag pot; takes 7500 fire damage/sec for 10 seconds, if target survives, they get a haste buff of 150% for the duration of the fight

X2-002 DECONSTRUCTOR

Finally, a premier tank and spank fight.

Run away if you have Light Bomb or Gravity Bomb debuff (think grobbulus).

Other than that, adds can be snared, and need to be grouped together and burned down. Boombots eplode at 50% HP, and will damage other adds, so its the ranged dps duty to take em out. They dish out a major AoE also (like fire elementals in HoL) so melee really needs to back the F*** off.In 10 mans, adds are one-shot. Self heal through tantrum, and you're golden.

The adds will heal Deconstructor, but can be snared.... so root em, chain em, and burn em. They spawn every 25% of deconstructor's HP.

Winning Strategy: Every 25% of decon's health, he'll shut down, and his heart will pop out. put 2 ranged on the sides between adds, and have all other DPS burn the heart down (but don't kill it); this means Blood Lust, pop CD's, whatever...this is where he takes the most damage =)

IRON COUNCIL

This is a DBM, /distance fight....everyone. must. have. this.

3 bosses-- each one down increases the others dmg output.

KILL STEELBREAKER FIRST.:

• Dispel debuff
• Run away from Fusion Punch (3 sec cast)
• Overwhelming Power increases damage 200%-- after 25 seconds of this he's dead
• He Meltdowns at death, and will wipe the raid if anyones within 20 yds

MOLGREIM

• Have to kite him and the adds away from Runes of Power that he spawns...melee will get a buff if they stand in it (5 yd)
• Rune of death= deals 10k dmg/sec when he casts this, be 15 yds away...quickly
• Lightning elementals will die upon casting...but deal 15k nature dmg

BRUNDIR

• Needs a Warrior tank to disrupt his cast more than once per minute
• Raid needs to be at max range
• When he overloads (loken style), get the hell away

KOLOGARN

DPS his right arm /ftw

When arm goes down, melee attack his body, ranged takes down the elemntals that spawn, and everyone moves back to dpsing the arm when it respawns.

Tanking: tanks will need to use taunt rotation (gluth) and not take more than 2 stacks . OT is needed for fire elementals once arm is down.

**SideNotes**

• DO NOT use Challenging Roar on elementals within 30 yds of Kologarn
• Melee needs to stay away from fire elementals (think HoL on roids)
• Shockwave hits for 12-15k....needs to be healed through
• Titan Gripped targets need massive heals similar to KT in Naxx