Happy Turkey Day!

...from all of us at Whirlwind of Doom.



Which wouldn't be complete without...

Shadowmorne has found a home...

This is a quick shout out to Xirella. Our guild has named her first to receive the legendary axe. I'm glad that the meeting we had about it went well. In my opinion it went just how I expected it would. Xi on top, our resident retnoob second and myself in third. Things considered I'm still new to the raider core so I'm fine with being third.

Once again, grats Xirella! You earned it!

The Verdict is in...

2009-11-25: Death's Verdict

That's right, tonight I picked up the trinket every single physical dps member of the raid wanted. I gave up my loot position to do so, but since the one member that would have gotten it wasn't here tonight, I had to take it.

Trinket aside I felt it was a bit of an off night for me. I blame the people that kept coming up and bugging me, but that's the problem with raiding when you're family is home. I think I was paying too much attention to my rotation as well instead of just mashing the keys in a frenzy, and oddly enough I suffered for it. One of these days I'll stop acting like a noob.

Lord Jaraxxus - 6980(Xi)
Anub'arak - 6835(Xi)

My Time with Blizzard Billing Support

It's 1:27, I've been on hold for only five minutes, but I'm seeing estimates of 15 minutes from the automated robot voice, and an hour from players on the forums. So I thought I'd bitch about it on my blog.

So I log in to WoW to finish up my turkey dailies (got tired last night) and get my mats for the raid, and the message on the login screen says... my prepaid time is up.

...wait a second, I use a credit card. How can my 'prepaid' time be up. I got to the account, re-enter everything, I get the same. So, I call up my bank, and they say my card is golden. So... here I am, on the phone with Blizzard because... hey, it's Blizzard. If I don't get on it now, there's no way I'll get to my raid time, eight and a half hours from now. -_-

Edit: It's 1:49 P.M, and my phone says I've been on hold for 30 minutes. Least I got food.

Edit: 2:00 P.M. Nothing. No reason why it can't go through. Since I had already called my bank, the rep just kinda scratched his head and asked if I had another credit card to try. He didn't know what the result code meant, either. >.< Edit: 2:18 P.M. Finally have my account re-activated, through a little help from my friends at Shattered Crystal. If you ever need a game time card, and don't want the hassle of going to the store, you can get one easily, through your email account. It's fast, and secure. /advertising

Blast from the Past

And no, I'm not talking about that ridiculous Brendan Fraser movie. I'm talking about the little things that used to get me through the day, back in Burning crusade. I pulled this little puppy out of my bank last night, and I just wanted to smack something with it. For the heck of it. A few things I noticed...

First and foremost, the weapon model is freakin' awesome! Second, Executioner and Mongoose were much more interesting looking (and mechanically interesting) than berserking or massacre, which seem to be the only enchants anybody uses in WotLK.

And finally, the little, low item level pair of axes still tore into enemies at a decent pace. I did some dailies at the Argent Tournament grounds, and went about as fast as I do on my ret paladin, and managed 3.5k on a level 80 test dummy in Stormwind. I would've tried the heroic version, but I didn't feel like leveling my one handed axe skill to 400 just to check it out. =\

While these weren't the last weapons I used in BC, they were by far my favorite. And I'm just too sentimental to get rid of them.

The True Cost of Shadowmourne

We've all seen the staggering quest requirements, and have a pretty good idea what has to be done to get one lucky guild member a legendary weapon to take down Big Daddy Emo himself. But how does a guild decide? That's the real killer about legendary weapons: At the end of the day, they're really just big pieces of loot, designed to kill guild morale and, if the bonds of a group are too weak, a guild itself.

This Wednesday, I get to attend a meeting with 2 (or 3) possible candidates, and it has been suggested that we are to talk about the fate of the weapon and make a decision amongst ourselves. Seriously? I've talked to every one of us, and they all have the exact same response: "I'm going home with that weapon." I think they actually want us to tear each other's throats out.

With portents of a stalemate and a stomach ulcer on the horizon, I kind of get the idea that the guild's officer council just doesn't want to do anything about it. And that is the thing that I really don't want to see happen. An officer decision was made regarding the legendary healing mace, and I don't think that the melee should be cared for any less.

For posterity, I'll say here what I will end up saying at the meeting. Legendaries require large amounts of guild resources, and have the potential to benefit the guild as a whole. Shadowmourne should be awarded at the guild's (or officer's) discretion, which should ultimately be into the hands of the member that would provide the largest benefit to the raid as a whole.

ToC/Ony

2009-11-19: ToC/Ony

Got to do a little tanking tonight when a) one of our main tanks took the night off after an exhausting day and b) our main tank and raid leader couldn't stay logged in. The stars were in alignment for that shit.

Been trying to work something new into the mix. Been trying out an Indestructible Potion before the pull, to give myself a little under 2 minutes of almost 100 AP at the start of a fight. Every little bit counts, I say. Kudos to Gincan for bringing that idea to the table.

Beasts of Northrend - 5611(Xi)
Lord Jaraxxus - 6891(Gincan)

DPS Tracks 14: Whirlwind of Doom

My favorite band of all freakin' time!

Seriously! Wikipedia entry here.

And yes, I have a goddamn theme song. Sue me.



Whirlwind of Doom
By Iron Fire

One for all...

It's been five long years in the dark
And now a new age will begin
This time there will be no prisoners
There will be no mercy
Bloody wars in the underground
Has made a new monster
And the war for revenge, will strike, now go

Trapped in a nightmare, lost in a dream
Betrayed at the battle scene
Backstabbing brothers wanted me dead
Now my steel is all that they get

Like a shadow rising up from below
Years in darkness, now we finally
Know where to go
Metal we will consume like a...

Whirlwind of doom, one for all
The hammer of Caine will crush you
Whirlwind of doom, hear the call
Ironheads united
Whirlwind of doom, one for all
The hammer of Caine will crush you
Whirlwind of doom, hear the call
Ironheads united for revenge.

They granted me power and took it away
Here’s another battle to slay
A monster of metal, a creature of steel
To no man we will kneel

Like a shadow rising up from below
Years in darkness, now we finally
Know where to go
Metal we will consume like a...

Whirlwind of doom, one for all
The hammer of Caine will crush you
Whirlwind of doom, hear the call
Ironheads united
Whirlwind of doom, one for all
The hammer of Caine will crush you
Whirlwind of doom, hear the call
Ironheads united for revenge.

It felt just like paradise days of no compromise
Bridges will burn but we will build new ones
So join us in our world and fight by our side
Brothers and sisters, we bid you welcome

Hail to the chosen ones
There will be no mercy, no prisoners
Hail to the chosen ones
We will last like no one before
Hail to the chosen ones
There will be no mercy, no prisoners
Hail to the chosen ones
We will last like no one before
No one before

Like a whirlwind of doom
We're out for revenge
Like a whirlwind of doom

Macros: Two for the Price of One

I would like to bestow upon you a bit of knowledge. The problem with playing a warrior is we have a lot of different skills we need to use, and use them quickly. Here's the solution that has worked for me.

#showtooltip?
/cast [modifier:alt] Battle Shout; Heroic Strike
/cast Bloodrage
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear();

So let's break this down.

#showtooltip?

This simply displays the tooltip of either ability you specify.

/cast [modifier:alt] Battle Shout; Heroic Stike

Here we are specifying that you want to cast Heroic Strike, or Battle shout if holding the alt key. The same result can be accomplished using key bindings and additional action bars, but this way it takes up less real-estate on your screen.

/cast Bloodrage

This is easy enough to understand...

/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear();

I've added this at the bottom of every one of my macros so I don't see the error crap flashing across my screen. It's nice because I tend to mash buttons rapidly.

So there you have it. One simple macro that if altered slightly I'm sure will suit your play style. Just change what abilities you wish to cast and you can cut your action bars in half.

And what everyone has been waiting for...

...Gincan's answers to the survey.

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?

Gincan, Short and angry Fury Warrior


What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)

These days I dps mostly in a raid environment, both 10 and 25 mans. I also enjoy doing the occasional 5 man Heroic and destroying everyone's numbers. I may be a bit of an ass hole, but I find it entertaining pulling aggro off the tank and killing the mob before it kills me.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?

Whirlwind. When I started playing I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I made a dwarf because I've always envisioned them as the craziest sons of bitches out there. I went fury because nothing is greater than running into battle swinging two giant weapons, killing anything that stands in your way. And Whirlwind gets that job done better than any other skill out there.

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?

Victory Rush. I honestly don't think I've ever used this. I just don't see the point.


What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?

If you take a warrior, let him stand right in front of a boss and let him just go to town he'll out shine any other class. Warriors kill things, and they kill them well.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

As a dps class we don't bring much to the table besides raw power. The warrior in every environment (5 man dungeons, raids, PvP) doesn't do much on his own. But when paired with a team he becomes a damn rear unstoppable force. So to put it simply our major weakness is how much we rely on other classes.


In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?

A Warrior is best suited to kill. We are designed at our core to do nothing but kill, and kill as fast as possible. Throw us in the front lines and we'll bring the pain.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?

I dps as a fury warrior only. For a couple reasons. First of all I understand the class and I do my job pretty damn good. Secondly, I don't think any other toon I play would be quite as good.

What tanking class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?

Feral druids. Some people think a Warrior tank has little to no AoE tanking abilities. But anyone who thinks that has never tried to work with a bear. They suck, they really really suck.

What is your worst habit as a dps?

In a 5 man, I'm a total ass and don't care about my threat one bit. Nothing hits hard enough to kill me very quickly. And sometimes those horrible habits carry over to a raid. I try to be more conscious about my threat, but when the tank is having some kind of issue generating much threat I'll take a smack to the face and take a dirt nap faster than I can blink.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

I tend to be pretty laid back, but that doesn't mean I'm not competitive. When I first started raiding I saw the numbers other raiders were putting up and I worked hard to become that good, and my work paid off. My major pet peeve is anyone that doesn't try and beat me. I shouldn't be on top of the charts all the time, people should be beating me. My team should be making me work harder, and grow as a team. When people aren't pushing me like they should it gets frustrating.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?

I think we are fairly well balanced overall. Nothing about us is too over powered and we're not struggling to prove ourselves as viable raid specs. I'm pretty happy overall.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a tank?

I look over the raid parses put up on WoW meters Online as well as review my dps from recount. I like to make sure that I'm not doing anything horribly bad. I just need to work on my death count >.>

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

I don't see many misconceptions floating around anymore. A lot of people assume we're tanks, but that has lessened greatly. If their are any misconceptions still lingering, I don't hear them very often.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?

Understanding how to utilize rage effectively. Rage is the building block of our class, whether you're a tank or dps you have to understand how it works and when to use it. The concept of a "rage dump" is simple to understand but can be hard to master. If you follow the normal rotation (which you should) you need to know when to use Heroic Strike. If you use it too much, you'll be sitting around with nothing to do for a good 2 to 3 seconds. If you use it too little you're losing out on a lot of dps.

What dps class do you feel you understand least?

Shadow Priests. I typically don't raid with any so I don't really know what they bring to the table. Mind Control is pretty much the only thing I know they can do.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?

Power Aura Classic. I have it set up to remind me to shout if I'm the only Fury Warrior (I'm usually not). And I have a big ass warning right in my face when Blood Surge procs.

Icehud. I have it set up to help my monitor my health, and most of all my rage.

Strength over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?


I still don't entirely understand the best way to go with stats. But so far this is how I've done it.

~140 Hit
~26 Expertise
Go balls out on Strength.

I don't worry about Armor Penetration much since most of the best gear has it, so I tend to not gem for it.

Seriously, Blizzard?

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. I think that, since the release of Lich King, Blizzard has done a lot of things right. Tier pieces for badges, Heirloom pieces, and faction/race changes have made WoW a lot more fun than ever before. But regardless of their success, I guess ad campaigns die hard.

Hey, yo... (A Survey)

First thing's first. I'm not in love with the new composition tool that blogger uses. That aside, I found a wonderful post through WoW.com about a dps survey that is being done, obviously inspired by the healer and tank surveys that have been going through the blogosphere. And they're missing a dps warrior's opinions. Well, guess what?


What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?


Xirella, Proud Fury Warrior


What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)

I primarily dps in the 10 and 25 man scene.  Heroics are a bit too frustrating to dps on a regular basis, given the skill level and threat output of the average PuG tank.  PvP is out of the question because a) I'm fury, and b) PvPing as a warrior is like being the fat kid on the playground.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?

Whirlwind.  This embodies everything about who I am and what I do.  Fury warriors are one-man wrecking crews, wading into battle, blindly swinging gigantic weapons in a powerful frenzy that can bring even the mightiest foes to their knees.
What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?

Victory Rush.  It was easy to get excited about it when 3.0 first dropped, and we all got to level with it.  Lots of damage, for free, right?  Well, this thing is never used in a raid.  Ever.  Even if I get the killing blow on a boss, I get to watch it light up while we're distributing loot and then fade away into a meaningless nothingness.


What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?

I suppose the real strength of a warrior is the ability to suck it up and tank.  I know that's not really what people ask for, but I find that, with the introduction of dual spec, there is no sensible reason for a warrior not to have a tank spec and a bag of gear with you at all times.  You never know when the opportunity will arise where you can show off your tanking chops on a big stage.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

I feel that the DPS warrior suffers from a lack of versatility.  All of our buffs are mirrored by an array of different classes, we have limited ability to heal ourselves or others.  We have no abilities that can be considered "raid savers" (such as Lay on Hands, bubbles, battle res, etc.), and our raw dps is underneath that of the "pure" dps classes.


In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?

I am a boss killer.  Put me behind a stationary target and let me go to town.  I face roll from one side of my keyboard to the left, keeping the damage rolling in until we're smacking the master looter for our stuff.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?

Warriors.  Fury only.  I find the arms rotation to be a bit too clunky for my tastes.  Warriors have gone through a lot of changes over the ages, but they still manage to maintain an easy to learn, difficult to master dps rotation, and more than capable of making your guild leader want to adopt you for your in-game prowess.  (No, really...  she wants to adopt me.)

What tanking class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?

Feral druids.  Short of quoting my raid leader ("Druid Tanks ****ing suck"), it doesn't seem as though, through game mechanics of lack of skill, druid tanks have the ability to hold threat on a level that is necessary for competitive dps.  I'm sure there are druids out there who could prove me wrong.  I'd love to meet them.

What is your worst habit as a dps?

Ignoring my Threat Meter. While I dance around the clouds/fire/orbs/whatever with the greatest of ease, I can't seem to watch my threat meter for more than a few seconds after engagement.  This isn't normally a problem, since our raid tank is top notch, but say, for example, the tank is stunned or slowed by the ridiculous poison debuff in heroic beasts, I may or may not be able to pull off long enough to keep from dying horribly.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

Players who settle for mediocrity.  Just because we're not in a top end guild doesn't mean you don't have to give it your all.  My guild is only in here for 6 hours a week, and I don't think it's too much to ask that people read up on their class rotation, bring consumables and focus until we call it for the night.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?

I think warriors are fine.  I've heard the blues talk about more buffs to compensate from the 10% that was cut in 3.1, but as long as we don't get another large chunk cut away before Cataclysm, I think I'll be just peachy.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a tank?

WoW Meter Online.  I watch my progress like a hawk, and keep track of my dps milestones so that I know that I'm improving.


What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

That we are all tanks.  Since Titan's Grip, I'm sure this has been reduced somewhat.  But it was a big deal in BC.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?


Capitalizing on the global cooldown.  Doing something every 1.5 seconds adds so much to dps as opposed to simply pressing a button when you happen to notice it's off cooldown.  Learning to feel the GCD is probably the best way to boost a newbie's dps.

What dps class do you feel you understand least?

Warlocks.  I can't even keep track of their buffs. I remember walking into Heroic Botanica and asking the warlock...  "Hey, do you have any CC?"

...I did the same thing in Utgarde Pinnacle, at the start of Wrath.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?

You can't ask me that.  You'll make me blush...


Seriously though, there are a lot of things I do to keep my DPS as high as it can be.  I abuse Power Auras Classic, and have all of my macros listed here.

Strength over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?


Oh, wow.  There's a lot involved in determining how you should gear and gem.  I use Landsoul's Warrior DPS Spreadsheet to determine what upgrades are for me, and which stats hold a priority.  The basics are:

-Reach the soft hit cap
-Reach the expertise cap
-Slot for either str or armor penetration as your primary.

DPS Tracks 13: Treason (Battle with the Four Fiends)

This is fairly old news for some, but the geniuses (no sarcasm, really) at Overclocked ReMix have given us a free-to-download album featuring my favorite game of all time: Final Fantasy IV. Run, don't walk, download it here.

Gincan....The Towering Monstrosity

If you play a dwarf you are bound to be subject to a certain level of crap being thrown your way. This is especially true if you're the only dwarf in the guild. I'm not bothered by the jokes in anyway, I actually find most of them fairly funny. But last night I got a little revenge on the number one crap talker of Dwarves...our guild leader.

So here's what happened. This nice chest piece dropped off of the Northrend Beasts. It was pretty clear that it would go to off-spec since all of our main tanks either were rocking one already or had one floating around in their bags somewhere.

So as loot shows up a comment is maid that "Whatever happens, that chest piece can't go to Gincan. There is no way he could ever be a Towering Monstrosity." Everyone had their laughs. Even I thought it was a funny comment. But when it came time to roll I got my little bit of poetic justice. I rolled a 100, got my chest piece, and took my place as a "Towering" Monstrosity.

So the moral of the story today is: Racism is wrong, hug a dwarf.

Heroic Beasts, Round 1

2009-11-05: Heroic Beasts: Ouch

I really didn't think they would hurt half as much as they did. But oh, our little healer core was -not- ready for they had in store for us. Running in light (only five healers showed up and hey, if it was just normal ToC, they were complaining about being bored) on heals, our tanks died horrible, horrible deaths in the first few seconds of our first pull. Further attempts revealed that a) Gormok is not a pussy, and b) Need moar healers.

Other than that, Gincan's been impressing the guild with two brand new 232 weapons (we take what we can get in this raid group), and even got to post a DPS milestone of his own.

Now if I can just push the rest of the melee...

Beasts of Northrend - 5138(Xi)
Lord Jaraxxus - 6645(Xi)
Faction Champions - 4665(Gincan)
Onyxia - 5022(Xi)

An Obligatory Intoduction

As Xirella has already pointed out there is a another contributor to this blog. So this is a quick introduction of myself, Gincan. Originally my relationship with Xirella was strictly student teacher. I was the lowly newb that knew nothing of rotation, or even how to dps my way out of a paper bag. But after getting several pointers and some decent gear, I quickly rose to be one of the hardest hitting members of our guild. I frequently out dps people who have been doing this for years, and I do it while standing a good two feet shorter than them (Yeah, I'm a dwarf....in game, not real life). So from time to time you can expect to see a post here and there from this angry little dwarf. I promise I'll be more entertaining next time.