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.

LFG: Wheel of Misfortune

If you've been keeping up with the new LFG system, you know that pretty soon we're getting a new "random dungeon" option, that pits us and 4 players in a dungeon of it's choosing.

The only issue I can think of (and it's a big one) is that, right now, pugging is kinda random anyway. I was picked up just yesterday by a group of people whose tank ditched out on them after wiping on Dred. They were really glad to see a tank with over 30k health, but even I died pretty badly to the hands of the large dinosaur, and was forced into wearing a raid suit.

Now I don't think that they were bads, necessarily. But they were definitely in the lower end of the gear pool. And I wonder (and fear) that such random placement can put me into pugs with mismatched talent... constantly. After all, when rolling for loot, I can't seem to roll over a 20. I think that applies to all WoW aspects that work on the random number generator.

In other news, I've posted my (soon-to-be-outdated) guide to tanking, as well as taken on a partner to contribute to the blog. He's around here somewhere... he's probably just a little shy. I just gotta figure out how to make a multiple author widget, and I can plaster it over the side bar...

Many Whelps! Handle It!

Server first achievement. I'm not sure if this one is really really relevant, but it was kinda fun. And yes, this is the size of the video posted on our forums, likely due to forum (and my blog) size constraints. Click the youtube logo to watch it in it's real size on youtube.

Warning: Video contains harsh language... remixed.

Devils!

Whee! Nothing says loving like copyright infringement!

Youtube has been cracking down on this kind of thing lately, giving you options of using their licensed (and also of poor audio quality) recordings for your videos. So you can choose to buy them. So they(youtube) can make money.

Hmm...

So yeah, I might have to find some other place to use when I embed music for my dps tracks.

DPS Tracks 12: I Am Hated

I AM HATED
By: Slipknot

The whole world is my enemy - and I'm a walking target
Two times the devil with all the significance
Dragged and raped for the love of a mob
I can't stay - because I can't be stopped
Eat motherfuckers alive who cross us
I know you're all tired of the same ol' bosses
Let me tell you how it's gonna be
I'm gonna kill anyone who steps up in front of me

Welcome to the same ol' fucking scam
Same ol' shit in a dead fad

Everybody wants to be so hard
Are you real or a second rate sports card?
They all lost their dad or their wife just died
They never got to go outside - SHUT UP
Nobody gives a fuck
it doesn't change the fact that you suck

(We are) The anti-cancer
(We are) The only answer
Stripped down, we want you dead
But what's inside of me, you'll never know
(We are) Bipolar gods
(We are) You know what we are
My life was always shit
And I don't think I need this anymore

Now I'm not pretty and I'm not cool
But I'm fat and I'm ugly and proud - so fuck you
Standing out is the new pretension
Sreamline the (sic)ness, half-assed aggression
You gotta see it to believe it, we all got conned
All the mediocre sacred cows we spawned
Put your trust in the mission
We will not repent - this is our religion

(We are) The anti-cancer
(We are) The only answer
Stripped down, we want you dead
But waht's inside of me, you'll never know
(We are) Bipolar gods
(We are) You know what we are
My life was always shit
And I don't think I need this anymore

I AM HATED
YOU ARE HATED
WE ARE HATED

Everything sucks and I can prove it
Everybody dies, shuffle on, remove it
Individuals, indispensable
I'm the paradox deity vessel
...the other side holds no secret
But this side is done, I don't need it
Before you go, you should know you're breaking down
You'll be rotten by the time you're underground

(We are) The anti-cancer
(We are) The only answer
Stripped down, we want you dead
But what's inside of me, you'll never know
(We are) Bipolar gods
(We are) You know what we are
My life was always shit
And I don't think I need this anymore

(We Are) The source of conscience
(We Are) Distorted sentients
There's only one thing left
And I can't leave until it's sated
(We Are) The absolute
(We Are) Controlling you
They're closing in, I can't escape
I AM HATED

Feeling sick...

2009-10-21: Blargh

Haven't been feeling that great lately. Having dizzy spells. Thinking it might be related to how freakin hot it is here, regardless of how cool it is outside. I hate this inbetween weather. Too cool for the AC (which is the only thing keeping my computer from heating my entire bedroom) but too warm for the weather to cool me down. Yeah, I have a window wide open, but with no breeze and an unusual lack of fans (someone threw them out when we got central heat and air...), it's hotter than dog shit in here.

Oh yeah, and if you're a ret paladin and your name begins with the letters RET you probably deserve to be slapped.

That is all.

Beasts of Northrend - 4919
Twin Val'kyr - 9486
Anub'arak - 6549

No moar yogg! :O

Huh..

Every once in a while, the guild will surprise me.

Actually, that's a lie. It wasn't a surprise. We really worked that sonuvabitch over, and took his obsolete loot. Guild firsts are never bad, no matter how late in the game we've hit it.

Moar Yogg

I know, it's odd to post before the raid. But I've got so much data on yogg already that I don't really plan on parsing it. Besides, it's more about gauging my own improvement than anything else, and it's hard to see the improvement in the stop-and-go environment of Yogg 25. Our DPS have really itchy trigger fingers, and the adds die in seconds, which is disastrous for the first phase.

I think we're getting to it, but we're having trouble learning the transitions and the things that come in the later stages of the fight. The issue, obviously, is that it is tiring to get to the 3rd phase, and people usually lose focus by the time we're getting there consistently. I hope we can just hop back into 3rd phase attempts tonight, and maybe even get Yogg, because it seems our raid leader isn't giving us the go for ToGC until we get him down.

Justicebringer

Finally.

After two content patches, Lexi and I both have a 25 man weapon drop. The sword dropped off Onyxia too, and the long time we waited to get them finally paid off.

Go team DXL.

DPS Tracks 11: Crush'em

Blah blah competitive spirit blah blah.

It might have something to do with my work in the arena. I don't know.

And yes, this is from what is likely Megadeth's worst album (although it and Cryptic Writings are pretty close in that respect). Also of note, is that you'll notice (somewhat) famous film and t.v. personalities Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bill Goldberg. This may be the last Van Damme movie that anybody actually cared about. And by care about I mean... it was in theatres.

Edit: The hyphen was in the wrong place -_-



Crush 'em
By Megadeth

Enter the arena and hit the lights
Step up now you're in for a ride
this is war, ain't no fun and games
we get it up, you go down in flames

Party time, going down
you better not mess us around
the stakes are rich, take a hit or stay
the price is high, someone's gonna pay

Heads I win, tails you lose
out of my way I'm coming through
roll the dice don't think twice
and we crush, crush 'em

Looking for trouble, now you've found it
you're a drum and we're gonna pound it

Last one standing wins the fight
hear us scream and shout all night
down on the floor and eat the grit
this is gonna hurt a little bit

Heads I win, tails you lose
out of my way I'm coming through
roll the dice don't think twice
and we crush, crush 'em

Now we lay you down to rest
you'll never be more than second best
step inside you're in for a ride
and we crush, crush 'em

Don't need reason, don't want names
just a John Doe to put to shame
step aside let me explain
the name of the game is pain

Now we've found you
We're gonna pound you
We're gonna beat you
Gonna defeat you
We're gonna bust you
We're gonna crush you
We're gonna crush 'em

Rules of Raiding: Never Blame the Healer

I figure this was a pretty unspoken rule. At the very least, it's something that I've always lived by, and something that our guild upholds to a fairly high standard. And it makes sense: Piss off the healer, and you might not get heals anymore. Do you have a replacement? Then it's time to put something in that cake hole.

Here's my story: I'm on my little paladin, and get recruited for a 10 man ToC pug. Now, these usually end pretty badly. The tanks aren't usually well-geared enough for the encounter, and the healers usually follow suit. But, this is good practice, I figure, for when my healer has to do the real thing for the guild.

So there's this tank that decides to take over as raid leader. And to his credit, he does a decent job at explaining the boss fight in detail. His problem? Not only is he really undergeared (and inappropriately geared, with a 2.6 speed agility weapon and a lot of block rating and block value), but he absolutely has to tell you how -you- wiped the group and how you just need to fucking do better.

First he was all over the melee for not killing the kobolds. Then the ranged for not avoiding the fires. Wipe #6 comes around and he eats a huge spike of damage while he's got 4 or 5 stacks of the bleed debuff on him and I can't keep him up. Next thing you know, in whisper and over vent, he's letting me know that my healing ratios are off, that he knows healing and that I fail.

Hmm...

Now, I'm not the best healer in the world by my own admission. But if someone wants to tell me how to play my class, they better be playing that class at the very least. This guy could barely play his own class.

It didn't help that he was playing a warrior, a class that I know like the back of my hand.

This comes back to my original thought. Never blame the healer. I don't even care if it's their fault. In a guild setting, you have the opportunity to correct any healer issues through other channels, through suggestions from the main healer and other members of the healing ensemble, or through assigned readings from the wealth of articles online. In a pug? Just replace them if you think they're that bad. But don't fucking waste everyone's time trying to micro manage every aspect of a fight. It makes you look like an asshole. That warrior was an asshole.

Why don't you blame the healer? Because you won't get any more heals, which is what happened to this guy. I just left. And ran it later when my guild leader's 10 man had an open spot. Guess what crappy healer got to clear 10 man ToC for the first time?

I really hate...

Yogg-Saron!

Seriously. I'm not even parsing this crap, since it's the equivalent of handing someone a stack of food, 4 flasks, and 200g to slap me in the virtual (or actual) face for a few hours.

I can only imagine we're after the achievement, because the loot pinata that is ToC has been relatively good to us.

Relatively...

I hate adds. I hate them.

Hate.

Adds.

Back to the fight. >.<

Hmm...

So I've been kinda speechless lately. I've been working (very little) on a guide to raiding, which I'm sure nobody actually needs... but every other thing out of my mouth sounds like "don't be an idiot," or "don't be a douche bag." I've just had nothing to report. Just like those few weeks that we were stuck on Thorim. Nothing new is happening.

In raiding, anyway. I've been playing my paladin a lot lately. I've joined our guild leader's Monday Night 10 man roster, and now have more access to Badges of Triumph and the possibility of loot (you know how me and loot don't get along). When I'm not raiding, I pvp my ass off. My paladin has a full Deadly set (with the exception of gloves), and we're working our way past the 1200 arena barrier in a 3v3 team. Doing the holy pally thing is pretty fun, since we have a lot of tools to get through the high burst that a lot of teams and specs have.

I see a lot of people covering the next "great" update already, and the thing that always sticks out in my mind is... what's the rush? Why is there such a huge urge to move forward the -moment- something has just changed? It's not like the ToC content is old. It just came out! The very day that 3.2.2 dropped they were talking about 3.3. I wonder if it's just a sign of the times; The masses suffer from a form of commercially induced ADD and are unable to sit still for more than 2 seconds.

That's just my thought, anyway.