Player Spotlight: SHYSTECHRIS

(Shystechris)

Name: Shystechris (BE Death Knight)
Alt1: Shysteshot (lvl 24 Tauren Hunter)


About Shyste:
A Dark Archon of Honor and Glory. Epic DPS =), will tank when I'm asked. Got into gaming a couple of years ago via the 360; COD4 and L4D--then was dragged into WoW by Antslock and Moonicknight. Rolled a Paladin my first round, was into it ok until I learned about the Deathknight. I wanted to carry a sword and smack shit with it, so I switched.

Shyste Asks Himself:

What's your favorite breakfast cereal?

Unfortunately, I don't usually have time to eat a good breakfast these days--as a kid, my fave was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Now, its Basic 4.

All time fave band/group?

This one's a toss up between Weezer, Third Eye Blind, and Jack's Mannequin/Something Corporate.

What do you do for fun, other than WoW?

Hangin with friends, golfing, going to concerts and sports games--camping, fishing, the list goes on...

Favorite Sport:

Don't really have a favorite. What I watch: hockey, football, golf, tennis, and baseball if its live.

Favorite 80's movie?

Oh, where to begin? Princess Bride, Spaceballs, Real Genius, Lost Boys, Breakfast Club, License to Drive...so many good ones to choose =p

What do you do?

I'm a banker by trade (9 years)...but that may change. I dunno. Have 2 qtrs left for my bachelors, but i'm still paying on the college I've already had--this economy has kinda got me stuck.

Favorite Kool Aid flavor?

Raspberry Lemonade is the schizz. Always brings out my kool aid smile.

Favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Cat in the Hat. Hands down. Watched a kid perform it at National's (Speech & Debate) back in highschool--awesome. It was always my fave.

Favorite cartoon character?

Hmmm...so many growing up. Gonna go with either Danger Mouse or Kit from Tale Spin.

Do you have a favorite WoW dance?

I like the way undead rock out, but I also like the Tauren's dance....its a toss up.

Favorite WoW moment?

Tanking KT and the adds. Out DPSing better geared players. Coming back in Arena to kill a pally after the bubble; these are all things that make me happy. New achievements, new boss kills, new feats of strength, each new one is a fave WoW moment.

What are you looking forward to, in-game?

Unfortunately, gear can hinder a players ability somewhat--but with the new gear structure in 3.2, I really think we'll be able to compete with more progressive guilds. We have the talent, now we'll have access to the tools. I'm looking forward to downing Algalon--wrapping up hard modes, and trying to piece together Vala'nyr. I'm looking forward to downing the coliseum, and working toward that server first. I think we can do it. =)

FL +2 Nuff Said...

Allies are Retards (and everyone knows you don't go full retard)

So I'm flying into Cross roads last night, on my way to turn in some quests for the huntard (which is lvl 22 btw), and I see the notorious "Crossroads is under attack" being spammed in my chat frame. After I landed, it took a second for me to realize that I wasn't flagged for pvp. I did a quick recon: couple of 80's, couple of 60's lvls. DK's and Pally's. Over vent, I asked Darth and Hazl for help, then switched over to my main, and headed out.

Now, I don't know about your server...but on ours, Allies are like child molestors; they prey on the young and weak, and lift their skirts to run away when someone their own size comes along. I swear, the ally on Blood Furnace must all be 12 yr old girls...

Anyway, I get there, single out the 80 pally in pvp gear, and instead of fighting me, he bubbles and runs, vagina blowing in the breeze. I really think ally balls are on a global cool down with their bubbles. Once he was gone, that left a couple of other DK's.

Now let me tell you, these two DK's (80's) have to be about the n00biest pair I've ever encountered. To make a long story short, they thought they could rez together and take me out...as other players were running around looking for more, I literally sat on their corpses, hoping to draw fire. They would rez, both drop D n D (morons) and do whatever they could do to take me down 5% (meaning i still had 95% HP left). A few of my Scourge strikes later and one is a whisper away from dead, and the other, is uhh, wearing frost resist gear. Morons. Don't they know they AREN'T suppose to go full retard?

/sigh

*Check out the pic up top--I <3>

Shyste Rolls a Huntard: Shysteshot

Born Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11.00pm (pst), Shysteshot entered Mulgore weighing approximately 250 lb (if I had to guess).

(Shysteshot and Lovesgnomes)

Other than raiding, there isn't a whole lot that I really need to do on the DK besides fishing and cooking, and dailies for cash. I bought some heirlooms for my Pally, thinking that I might like to finish him from 55, but everytime I go back to him, I realize why I left. I'm just not a Pally player.

I don't know what realy prompted me to want to roll another toon...Realistically, the thought of levelling again sucks to me. But I like Taurens, and I think Huntards are kinda cool; so there ya go. Ranged DPS /ftw.

Shysteshot is level 6 Tauren Hunter currently killing shit in Bloodhoof. I'm sure you'll hear more about my misadventures on a weekly basis--Currently, he does about 3-4 dps. I can't wait till I get a pet =)

Speaking of.....peep out the poll I've got going regarding pet names =p

Player Spotlight: STONEHOOFX

(Stonehoofx)

Name: Stonehoofx (Tauren Warrior)
Alt1: Ionisa (BE Mage)
Alt2: Kalionys (BE Paladin)

Meet Stone:
Second GM of Honor and Glory. This guy's been around a long time, and like Kallion, has an Epic Toon for just about everything. Most notably about Stone, is his humongous achievement list...sitting at over 5ooo achievement points, I have yet to run across a player with more...or more titles for that matter.

Shyste Asks:
What's your favorite breakfast cereal?
Plain 'Ol Cheerios

All time favorite band/group?
Tool

What do you do for fun, other than WoW?
Hang out with my family and friends, listen to music, and take care of my girl

Favorite sport?
Football

Favorite 80's movie?
The Outsiders

What do you do (occupation)?
In-between jobs. Previously a AC/Heater Assembler

What's your favorite kool-aid flavor?
Orange in general, but I usually mix shit up and make up something

Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
Green Eggs and Ham

Favorite Cartoon Character?

Mayor Adam West (family guy)

Do you have a favorite WoW dance?
Ogre/Boomkin/Chris Farley Dance

Your favorite WoW moment?

When I got my diaper helm 2 years ago on my warrior and became...FRANKINTAUREN! "Dun Dun Dun!"

What are you looking forward to, in-game?

Raid progression, end-boss kills, gearing up the crew, and getting my achievement points higher than a gnome punted off of Dalaran!

(Ionisa)

When H&G gets bored...

We tend to like to try ridiculous things...We've got Naxx on farm, so we're running 10-man with alts, and a couple still needing some gear. I make one pass around the room with Grobbulus, and think, "wouldn't it be fun to kill him on the way to Gluth?"

So there it is...I kite Grobb up the stairs, aiming for the pipe--almost got him there, but our DPS was just too beastly. He died up top.

Somehow, Rallian went down on KT (do not insert dirty joke here), so I had to pick both him and the adds up. I'm really feeling confident about my tanking this week. One-shotted 25 Emalon with me tanking adds, and now this...

Player Spotlight: KYRATHOS

(Kallion pictured Above)

Main: Kyrathos (Tauren Hunter)

Alt1: Kallion (BE Paladin)
Alt2: Stormripper (Orc Shaman)



About Kyra:

GM of Honor and Glory. He's got an 80 toon for just about everything and is an all around epic player. Whether its DPS, Tanking, or even healing, you definitely want this dude on your side.

Shyste Asks:

What's your favorite breakfast cereal?
Pops

All time favorite band/group?
My own band "Liquid Metal"

What do you do for fun, other than WoW?
Write poetry, play guitar, run around and take dirt-bikes out for a cruise

Favorite sport?
Rugby

Favorite 80's movie?
no thanks. lol

What do you do (occupation)?
College student, construction worker, general associate at Party City =P

What's your favorite kool-aid flavor?
Cherry

Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
The Lorax

Do you have a favorite WoW dance?
Orc's MC Hammertime

Your favorite WoW moment?
Me and Raven doing arena, and me 1 shotting the piss out of guys that were more geared than us
What are you looking forward to, in-game?
Honor and Glory server first at the Colisem =)

(Stormripper pictured below)

What Kind of Player are You?

Prompted from some discussion late last night, I'm curious to find out what kind of player you are...


After a few wipes on Flame Leviathan +2 (25%, 15%, 4%), the group decided that they wanted to take down an additional tower to down levi, and move on to other content. My initial reaction pushes me to keep trying--mostly, because I love the challenge. Hard is what I'm here for...But, on the other hand, there's still a lot of Ulduar that remains to be seen, so taking down a tower for the sake of progress is fine by me. Later on, this provoked a discussion about fights, and either the presence or absence of luck. Personally, I don't really believe in luck--I like to have more faith than that. I look at the group we're running with, I know what everyone is capable of, and I'm good to go. Now, this isn't to say that I don't believe in glitches....Maexxna shooting invisible wraps across the room is a glitch. Invisible flame walls in OS is a glitch; there's no escaping these things, and they cannot be controlled. On the other hand, 2 sentinels spawning at the same time at razorscale: shitty, but manageable. Big ring of death spawning under Steelbreaker right before a fusion punch: really shitty. Manageable? Perhaps...

The point I was trying to make last night (whether I was able to come close to it or not), was that these fights are hard. Any minute thing can cause a wipe. No matter what Murphy may have in store for us (referrring to his law), I cannot let this disuade me from trying a fight. We should know by now that these are coordination fights...if we are all individually good at what we do, yet we can't seem to get something to work, then, either is true:

(a) Someone is messing up or
(b) We are all messing up or
(c) We need a new plan
***************************************

When working on difficult fights, its very easy to write one off as, being "too difficult," or say things like "we don't have this" (blaming either group composition or player ability). After 6 or 7 wipes, I might concede to this way of thinking...but I don't expect to go in and one shot every boss. When I read blogs from progressive guilds, or tweet with some reknowned players-- I get to see that they stumble just as we do. I see that some fights take 8, 9, or 10 wipes to get the hang of (think back to the very first night of 3.1, working on leviathan for over 2 hours). They don't attribute success to their gear, or to luck, or to God. They attribute their accomplishments to their hard work. Because they're in there, every night, wiping, and wiping, and wiping; theorycrafting, trying to find the strategies that best work for them. This. Is. Resiliency.

So I'm curious to see what kind of player everyone is...

I myself, probably should be in an extremely hardcore raiding guild--But I enjoy Honor and Glory waaaaay too much to ever consider leaving (you guys really are the best. Never had so much fun as I'm having right now). I like challenges, and I try to push myself to the limit, without being overzealous. Do I want to try X2-002 hard mode? Absolutely. Do I think its feasible right now? Not quite. FL+2? Fuck yeah. FL+4? Not even close....yet. Sarth+1? SOON =)
This is me. I want it all. Money, cash, clothes, diamond rings. Fo Shizzle.

What kind of player are you? When we raid, am I pushing too hard? Or not enough? What are your goals?

Pro-Nun-See-A-Shuns

I don't know why its so difficult to pronounce names correctly. Look. Read. Speak. Seems easy enough....

After a night full of raiders tongue-fucking eachother's names up, here's a list of correct prunuciations:

1. Shystechris = Shy-stee
2. Hazl = Hay-zill (you should know this one by now)
3. Darthnishiki = Darth (for short) or Darth-ni-sheek
4. Whoapaw = Like Whoa! Whoa-paw (not Hoo-Pa?)
5. Maeda = My-aid-uh (not muh-day)
6. Erilis = Air-eh-liss
7. Firesong = Fire-song (if you don't know this, I recommend calling Levar Burton over for story time)
8. Stonehoofx = Stone
9. Kallion = Kall
10. Amorgan = B.o.B. (is that right fire?)
11. Nagu = do you really need help on this one? Its like Ragu, with an "N"
12. Eruibard = Air-ew-bard (Bard for short)
13. Lovesgnomes = Gnomes. (please don't call him loves, thats just weird)


I hope you've enjoyed the time we've spent together....next up: conjunction junction, followed by reading rainbow =)

The Etiquette of Looting

So you're pugging Naxx-25, just pwned the horseman, and before emblems are finished divvying themselves out (eating up valuable chat frame real estate) you see something purple linked, a yellow roll, and an item given out. What was that??!! You scan back only to find that Armageddon has dropped, that beautiful 2H of an upgrade you've been waiting for, and it went to the guildie of the loot master very stealthly, before you even knew what hit you. You just got Ninja'd (that just happened!!).

We've all been there at one point or another. Ninja'd items, plate/mail classes rolling on leather, and now the absurd I'm dual spec'd so I'm rolling on everything attitude. With the inception of dual spec's, the mechanics and etiquette of looting have changed over night. It's time to revisit loot distribution, what is acceptable, and what is fair.

AS THE LOOT MASTER:
The general consensus is that loot rules are given in both verbal and written forms (over vent and raid chat), after the first ready check but before the first pull. This gives new raiders, or raiders new to your group, time to ask questions or leave if they have a problem with the loot system. For example, when we run Heroic Raids, our loot system is designed to maximize loot distribution; 1 epic, 1 BoE, 1 Tier Token per raid night--Main Specs only. This is explained at the beginning of the raid, and should no main specs need an item, then and only then does it go up for off-spec rolls. I like this system because it promotes a "sharing the wealth" mantra. Loot is spread out to as many people as possible, and raiders will generally keep coming back, because of how fair the system is.

AS THE LOOTER:
Whether you realize it or not, how you (the looter) conduct yourself with regard to loot rules, has the ability to impact the way the other players experience the raid. By adhering to the rules, only rolling for your main spec, and not rolling if you've already won an item in that category helps keep integrity in the system. When players disregard the rules, roll out of turn, roll in a category they've already won, or roll and say "offspec" when other mains are rolling, only muddles up raid chat, and generally pisses off the players making legitimate rolls. And, if the raid leader is organized, they have a running notepad detailing who won what items, so you're probably pissing them off too. That's an easy way to not be invited back.

Just like the designated hitter detracted from the purity of baseball, the inclusion of dual specs into the game has detracted from the purity of the loot system. As with all new systems, it won't change overnight. Here is a good time for you to think globally, and act locally. Start with yourself. Be honest about looting. Roll for your mainspec--if you're invited into a raid as your secondary spec, ask the raid leader/loot master what is appropriate to roll on. Speak up over vent, show your concern to be fair and honest...lead by example. Raid leaders appreciate this--not only does it show your maturity regarding the matter, but it also shows that you value their loot system.

Stick to these general guidelines, and you'll soon find that in the big tea party of looting, your etiquette has become second to none. =)

Recruitment: MMO-Champion Post

Honor and Glory [Horde-Blood Furnace, US] consists of players that love to play the game. We're easy going, don't believe in harsh raiding requirements, but are organized none the less. The guild was created pre-BC by Kyrathos and Stonehoofx, and has stood the test of time, even as players leave the game to pursue other opportunities.

Our roster consists of over 100 casual players.We are currently looking for skilled, PvE oriented players for Heroic Raiding of end-game content. Our 10 man is currently in Ulduar, working on Auriaya.

Raiding Days/Times:
Thurs-Sun 8pm pst to 11pm pst (or 10-1 server)

At the moment, we have 15 geared, skilled, and dedicated raiders, and are looking for the following classes:

*Priests (shadow, disc, holy)
*Druids (Resto/ Oomkin)
*Hunters
*Mages
*Locks
* We are also looking for 1 more geared Tank

If you're currently looking for a group of fun individuals that enjoy raiding together, send a tell in game, or email with race/class/and a little bit of your raiding history/accomplishments.-

-Shystechris
http://shystechris.blogspot.com/

Email Submissions: shystechris@me.com, darktemplar96@yahoo.com

Blood DPS Revisited

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a good amount of time catching up with DK dps spec's; both current and PTR configurations. I've been playing unholy 12/05/59 with the same set-up for so long, I wanted to revisit blood 51/0/20 to see how it compared. I deleted my tank spec for the time being, glyphed for blood, and headed into Naxx 25 with the El Veritas crowd.

The overall boost to damage with blood is awesome. Veteran of the Third War added about 100 Str, which translates into a sizable AP boost--and +400 to overall damage. The stat increase alone was enough to make me swoon...now to put it to use.

Starting in Arachnid Quarter, dps on Anub was ok. I ended up in top spot just a couple hundred dps above everyone else. Not too bad. Faerlina was a tough battle, ended up in the top 3 for overall dmg, but was about 4th in actual dps. We AoE'd all the adds achievement style, and even with Heart Strike's free cleave, I just couldnt cut it.


When I changed back to unholy, the next couple of fights I out dps'd the group by 1000. /0.o

Now, I've seen the WWS stats and spreadsheets to know that blood has awesome potential. I just don't think that its my style anymore...


Cool Downs

CD management for blood kinda sucks. With unholy, my ghoul is up 100% of the time, and can live through just about anything. Gargoyle is a button press, and requires no effort, really. Diseases refresh with Glyph of Scourge Strike, so the only real boost that needs managing is bone-shield.

Blood, on the other hand, requires more...you have to self cast hysteria, then DRW (and if they're macro'd together, you have to make sure that theyre both off CD), and these are short lived, so in between popping these CD's, you have a short term ghoul to mess with. The CD's are so short, that half the fight is popping CD's--and then DRW requires that you are constantly attacking; its not free dps like gargoyle is.

Sooooo.....

No matter how simple the rotation is, this DK will take diseases anyday. CD management in blood just seems a bit too messy for me--especially on fights that are movement intensive. I'm just too unholy at heart to want to switch. =)