The Daily Quest : dkp

Weekly Digest: Kael Dead, Progression Methods, 2 G

matticus — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:50:18 GMT

1 What's Happening in WoW
2 What's Happening with the Blog
3 Latest Blog Posts
4 20 Questions by Matticus
5 Past Hits
6 Trends in the WoW Blogosphere
7 Blog Spotlight

What's Happening in WoW

We killed Kael on Sunday, yay! After the reset, we were able to kill him again which proves that we are now able to put Kael down on farm. After that, the special forces of Carnage decided to run into Mount Hyjal and help out Jaina. One wipe at around wave 7 before laying the smackdown on Rage Winterchill. Our healers had a tough time healing frostbolts and we're currently working on methods to counteract it.

For those that might be perplexed, Winterchill fires a frostbolt at a random player during the raid which impacts them ~4500+ damage and freezes them in place. Following that, there is a DoT applied to that player for 2500 per second.

Current solutions

Requirement of all players to obtain a PvP trinket by Tuesday

Here's some advice for players who employ DKP bidding in their loot distribution.

Bid high if you really want it
Do not bid in increments of 5

I found this lesson out the hard way the other night. I had the option to bid on a Verdant Sphere which gives you the option of picking an epic neckpiece of your choice. During round 1, I placed a bid for 35. It was revealed the highest was 45. During round 2, I placed a bid for 55 thinking that no one would go for it that high. Unfortunately, I lost the item to a Warlock who placed a bid for 56. I guess I'll need to do some more research and find me a neckpiece other then Lord Sanguinaar's Claim.

On the PvP front, my Shaman has acquired the Vengeful Gladiator's Mail Armor! That now brings me up to 2/5 S2 Resto and 3/5 Elemental. My goal is to become an Elemental Shaman in PvP. That seems to be what people want most these days. I've been thinking about what to socket them with. I'll most likely lean towards the Honor gems.

What's Happening with the Blog

I've decided to participate with a service called EntreCard. If you notice on the right side above my poll, there is a rectangular image. This service allows WoW bloggers to drop their business cards on to other blogs thereby getting traffic and raising awareness. As mentioned by TJ in her excellent summarization, the system is dominated by blogs that make money by telling other people how to make money blogging, there is no reason that it cannot be leveraged by the WoW blogging community. Why? Because you are able to approve or deny rights to blogs that wish to publicize on your blog. As such, I'm limiting blogs that show up under EntreCard to other WoW bloggers or gaming related blogs that have decided to use this service.

Latest Blog Posts

Here are the posts from this week:

A Guest post from Trackhoof helped kick off the week. In it, he discusses the synergies between a Priest and a Hunter.
Masato, a friend, helped create a Feral Druid gear guide for beginning bears that have just turned 70.
For those interested in Blogging about WoW, I started off with a few posts on things to do to get started and things to know before you devote yourself to it.
Are you having progression problems in your Guild? If you want a solution, take a look at my 3 Approaches to Guild Progression.
Masturbate much? Here's 6 telltale signs that you're playing too much World of Warcraft.

20 Questions by Matticus

This week I had a chance to sit down with Kestrel of Kestrel's Aerie.

Past Hits

Past columns I have written that still hold true to this day.

Trends in the WoW Blogosphere

Patch Notes have been strategically leaked by various Blizzard reps. Here's a few community takes and responses to them.

Blog Spotlight

Banana Shoulders - Siha is a Guild Leader and a Holy Paladin. We've had a lot of conversations on the AIM Blogazeroth chatroom. She's also a mac enthusiast!

Matt likes: The Jewelcrafting Quick Reference Sheet. I even printed out a copy. Unfortunately, since I use a laser printer it's in black and white.

I hate second guessing myself

matticus — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:33:11 GMT

The Carnage strike team raided on Tuesday. This run wasn't as smooth. Unfortunately, we couldn't shut out the first five bosses in SSC and we did not have enough time for a Leo kill. I just need to assuage myself.

So here's the situation.

We killed Fathomlord and two Defender tokens drop (Pants for Priests, Warriors, and Druids). Most of the other Priests had theirs. One of the Healing Priests took it, and then the option fell on me since I had the next highest amount of DKP among the three classes.

If I were to take it, it would render my Star-Soul Breeches obsolete from Solarian. I would have wasted past DKP. Obviously the Breeches of the Avatar would have been an upgrade but it would have been a slight upgrade.

If I pass, then the option would pass onto one of our main feral tanks. I know he would exercise his option and take it as they would upgrade his pants and make our raids marginally easier.

One of the hardest things to do in this game is to pass on loot when it comes to your turn. All of us players are human. Humans are inherently greedy. Passing on those pants, from a logical stand point, would be the right thing to do. But there's that inner demon inside me that screams "I WANT IT AND I WANT IT NOW" (the Id even). Then I internally punched it in the face and said pass. If I took it, I would've been a hypocrite. At least now I'm practicing what I preach.

Who knows when it's going to drop again? Knowing my luck, never. I'm not going to spend points on it until all the other Warriors, Priests, and Druids have theirs.

How to: Manage New Players and Loot

matticus — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:20:34 GMT

I think it's a fair assessment to say that most raiding Guilds have some kind of a trial procedure before a new player truly gets accepted. Complications arise when they raid begin to raid. Oh sure they've got the right to loot and all, but what about the guys that have worked on the boss for three weeks? Let's back up for a second here and talk about trialing.

From the new player perspective

So you're the new guy who is eager to prove yourself to the other members in the Guild. You might experience some difficulty breaking into the atmosphere. You're a little shy and intimidated. After all here's a Guild that doesn't run Karazhan anymore, crushes Solarian, mops the floor with Leo, rides Al'ar like a pony, and turns Lurker into sushi. The only raiding experience you have is to your fridge at midnight. The first thing you need to do is relax. The second thing you need to do is to prove yourself worthy of being in such a Guild.

Different Guilds will have different methods of evaluating you as a player and as a person. A PvP Guild examines players based on how well they PvP. A raiding Guild examines players on their raiding performance. When you join a Guild initially, chances are you're not "technically" in the Guild yet. But at the same time, you're kind of "in" the Guild. It's similar to hockey. Some players who don't have contracts with various clubs will start by trying out with the clubs and seeing how well they fit in. That's where you, the new guy, will be: in the Guild but not quite yet. Now the time period could range from a day to a month. Most tryouts would not involve you running in a five man or a heroic. Five man instances are vastly different from raid instances. If there happens to be a roster slot open for you, you'll get thrown into the frying pan. The first time you raid with a new Guild will make or break your application. Because if you're inactive or heaven forbid that you some how screw up somewhere, you will always be labelled as such a player. When I started doing Lurker a few months ago (gosh it's been so long), I would consistently get blasted by his Spout because my computer's frame rate was not high enough for me to compensate. It didn't take long before other players old and new alike were told to not "pull a Mallet".

Usually on first raids, most players will be quite forgiving. They'll understand that it's your first raid with them and they'll be extra patient. But that extra patience will begin to wear thin. You need to stay extra focused and on your toes. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask for clarification. Better a raid to spend an extra five minutes on explanations then thirty on wiping and dealing with trash respawns.

My trial experiences went something along the lines of this:

During my period with Angelic Advocates, I did not have the ability to speak in Guild chat (quite a nuisance by the way, don't do that to new people). My trial run consisted of being thrown into a 40 man Raid group and completing BWL from start to finish. I was immediately promoted (with speaking privileges) the moment we downed Nefarion. Oddly enough, it was a Guild first (Six Priests and I was the only fear ward).

When I was trying out for Aurora, I was asked to step in and raid Karazhan at 11 PM. We downed Attumen on the first try and I was signed within days.

After a lengthy 20 minute interview with the recruiting officer for Carnage, I was invited on a trial basis. It took me several Gruul runs and a Magtheridon death before I was finally accepted with open arms.

My experiences all have one thing in common: perseverance. I've run into my share of players who would leave the Guild immediately if they wipe 12 times in Karazhan on a single night. If you can't handle wiping in a minor instance like Karazhan, then there is not a chance you can handle raiding in a 25 man instance where raid wipes in the 20s are not uncommon. People seem to expect a free ride from high end raiding Guilds. I think that is one facet of the game that really annoys me.

The worse possible thing that can happen is that you and your potential new Guild just don't mesh. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Nothing will stop you from hopping over to a new Guild and beginning the process anew.

From the Guild perspective

Here is one possible method for handling loot and new players. It's going to work if you use a DKP system to help manage all the purples that drop. You can set a period of two or three weeks where players allowed to accumulate points but are not eligible to bid for or spend their points on loot. This is plausible if some players are in the negatives. However, if no one in the Raid needs that particular item, then the new player can exercise his option and ask for it. If you think about it, it's kind of like a big giant "need before greed" situation. The rest of the Guild has option before it is then passed to the new player.

It's up to every Guild member to make the new player at home and help him out a little bit if needed. You don't need to give him your 30 Uber Fires and Uber Nethers for his Ubercloth set, but do help him out if he wants a small quest done or needs a mob killed. The point here is to encourage participation. If you're doing dailies, ask him if they've done it yet. If you need an extra spot in a five man instance, go to the new player FIRST and see if they want in. Not only do you make the new player welcome, but you can subliminally see how that player performs and interacts with the Guild. All it takes is for one Guild member to say "Ubernoob said this to me and wouldn't do this because he didn't want to do it" and he is placed on the scrutiny list. I've seen cases where new players ask for help in running an instance and some Guild members say "sure, just a sec" and Ubernoob drops off the face of the planet leaving the Guild members hanging and scratching their heads wondering where he went (twice from what I've seen :O).

With this additional examination process, it allows more opportunities for Guild members to check out the Ubernoob. Guild Leaders who may not be around as often or don't have the time to play with the Ubernoob can ask players who have had experience with him to report their thoughts. Leaders can then make judgments based on the type of information they receive which leads to one or two directions: Ubernoob is considered an asset and receives a nod or Ubernoob is a liability and is not what the Guild is looking for.

Finally, whatever decision that is made by the Officers should be respected and should not be second guessed. They usually have more information then Tony Raider and should be trusted to make the right decisions.

Matticus is currently watching an episode of Mythbusters in the hope that Warlocks being OP will be dispelled. You can read more over at the World of Matticus.

Loot Management Week: Karazhan

matticus — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:09:17 GMT

Sorry guys, I had a really busy weekend. I had to finish up a few projects and participate in my hockey draft. I think my picks look pretty solid.

I've noticed an alarming trend lately in how some younger Guilds are imposing DKP for their Karazhan runs. Wait, what? Why? Why use DKP for loot distribution in a small ten man instance? Hopefully my plea can change the course of Guilds so that they don't run into any Guild Drama later on in their path.

Don't use DKP for Karazhan. As a Guild run, there will be at most two classes that are the same (warrior/warrior, priest/priest). It adds unnecessary work and possible consequences in the future. Loot should be decided via rolls or gear prioritization. I'm assuming that your guild is running with the same crew of people on a weekly basis. Even if you have two or three groups for Karazhan, then the loot being distributed should remain in those individual groups.

Like come on, seriously, its only a ten man raid. Did anyone run UBRS with DKP? I think not. There's only a few pieces in Karazhan that can be used by multiple classes. Even then, a simple roll off will work for it. There's a LOT of bosses in there that it's almost virtually guaranteed that everyone will get an upgrade at some point. As you progress through the higher areas of karazhan, you're going to end up with players with an insane amount of DKP through the roof. Once you start instances like Gruul's and Mag, then you will have players with lopsided points (in the range of thousands). These are the instances where DKP really DOES matter.

The rest of the week, I'm going to discuss the various methods that Guilds can use to distribute their loot in the best possible way for players. Each loot system is different and should be tailored to the primary objective of the Guild.

Matticus just topped the 1000 view milestone on his blog. Thanks very much to all Curse viewers! You can read more over at http://www.worldofmatticus.com.