Hit Cap - My New Obsession

Yet another post about +hit -- my new obsession.

I've done a lot of reading today and I've learned quite a bit about the hit cap. Two really important things to note:

1. A Draenei in my party brings the hit cap down to 263 for me. That's 26 points! I knew Draenei were helpful, but I had no idea they provided that much of a difference.
2. I don't need to wear any +hit gear when doing heroics. None, zilch, nada. Heroic bosses only require 6%, which I get from my talents.
   

This further confirms for me the complexity of gearing a dps toon as compared to gearing a healer. I'm now considering keeping three sets of gear:

• One that has 289 hit.
• One that has 263 hit (for when there's a Draenei in my party)
• One that has 0 hit (for when I'm doing heroics)

Of course, I could just lose the obsession, stick with one set of gear that has 289 hit and never worry about it. But, that would be too easy, wouldn't it? :-)

Here's detailed information that I got from the WoW forums today:

Hit Cap (General)

Vs Level 83 target (raid boss):
Base hit needed to cap: 446 HR (17%)

Vs Level 82 target (heroic dungeon boss):
Base hit needed to cap: 158 HR (6%)

Vs Level 81 target (heroic dungeon trash):
Base hit needed to cap: 132 HR (5%)


Hit Cap (Mage with 57/3/11 build)

Raid
Without further aid, she will need 289 hit.
With Heroic Presence, she will need 263 hit.
With Imp FF/Misery, she will need 210 hit.
With both Imp FF/Misery and HP, she will need 184 hit.

Heroics
She needs 0 hit. Only 6% is needed, and that comes from her talents.

There's also a spell hit section on wowwiki.com, but it's more info than I need. The above info is all I need regarding my mage.

Though it is worth noting that if I decide to dual spec my priest as shadow, she'll only need 263 hit, since she's Draenei.

Gearing Up -- DPS vs. Healing

So, I just lately am becoming aware of the differences in difficulty of gearing up for DPS and for Healing.

When I was gearing up my priest, my priorities were SP > Spirit > Int. Although a secondary goal was to keep Spirit and Int relatively equal, that didn't dictate my gear choices. In the end, if a drop improved one or more of these without drastically reducing one or more, I would roll on it. I would say, gearing up for a healer is fairly easy, as there are no absolutes to aim for.

The opposite is true for DPS. There is one absolute: Hit Rating. Even though SP, Crit and Haste are all good, they mean nothing if you can't actually hit the mobs with your spells. Hit means nothing to a healer. It's everything to a DPS class. As I mentioned in my diary post for today, I've been choosing not to roll on some items because they don't have +hit on them. And last week when I put on my three Naxx drops, I immediately noticed that my +hit had lowered. It was painful to have to replace SP, Crit and Haste gems with +hit gems.

My mage has been 80 for a while now, so it might seem odd that I'm only figuring this out now. The truth is that I paid little attention to +hit while I was leveling her. I had enough +hit for regular quest and grinding mobs, with the occasional missed spell. And, when I hit 80 and started doing Heroics, a couple of my guildies helped me with crafted gear to reach the 288 hit cap for Arcane. In fact, for a while there, I was 20-30 points of over the hit cap. As I've found new gear, my hit rating has slowly gone down, but never below the cap. So, it wasn't until last week when I got the Naxx items that I was suddenly faced with having to replace gems with +hit ones.

For DPS, each new item drop forces an evaluation. How does this piece of equipment affect my hit rating? If the answer is, "not at all", then there's no problem. But, if it affects it, either positively or negatively, it starts off a process of rethinking gems and other equipment in your bank or inventory. Should I swap out that +SP gem for a +hit one? Or should I just swap out my boots for those that have higher +hit that are sitting in my bank, even though they have slighter lower stats?

To contrast, the only reason I ever re-gem on my Priest is to try out new combinations. There is no one stat that has to be one specific number. So it's all just experimentation to find the right combo for me.

My conclusion? It really is more complicated, at least for me, to gear up a dps toon.

June 5, 2009

The last two days have been fun ones. I've been in Naxx on my mage most of the time, except when doing dailies on my priest. I haven't done a thing on any of the other toons.

Welcome Back to the Guild, Old Friend
So, for the last two nights I've gone to Naxx with on one of the "competing" raid runs. I'm the only person in the group who is not in their guild. And it's interesting because there's some history there. Their guild is actually the first guild I ever joined on my first toon. But I never felt a connection with the guild...and I stopped playing that toon when I found I enjoyed my hunter, then my priest, more.

Around the time my main guild was falling apart, I had gone on that other toon to get away from the drama. As I was playing her, I was watching guild chat and was totally offended by a situation that was going on and the fact that everyone was laughing at it. Having no strong attachment to the guild, I decided to just leave. Of course, there is one player who is an officer in the guild with whom I've been friends for a while. So, she was disappointed to see me leave.

Well...I've now been raiding for the past two nights with that guild. And guess what? I've found out that they're really a nice group of people after all and that the bad eggs in guild chat that night were not representative of the guild as a whole. So, last night I rejoined the guild on my first character. This time I have a different perspective, now feeling a bit more connected.

Naxxramas
As I said, I've been going to Naxx with my first guild for the past couple nights. It has been a ton of fun. They're a good group of people and they know their way around Naxx. So, we got a lot done. Another good thing is that they're mostly in my time zone, so they stop at a decent hour for me.

I haven't got any drops yet. There have been a few items I would have rolled on, but they didn't have +hit and, as I mentioned in a post earlier in the week, I'm hurting for +hit on items currently. But, I'm not complaining. I got three items when I ran with that PuG last week, so I'm doing fine. I'm on top of the DPS meters, so it's good that the other get items. It's amazing how easy it is to be non-greedy with loot when you are with people you like. I've been genuinely happy not to roll on items, knowing that the person who gets them can use them more than I.

Of course, if I lose my top spot on the DPS charts, I might be less generous. :)

June 3, 2009

Last night my main server was down, along with a bunch of other servers, due to problems with network equipment. So, I didn't go to Naxx as I had planned. I tried playing on other servers, but got bored. So, I took the night off.

But that doesn't mean I have nothing to say. :)

Gear In-Between Stages
It seems that as you go from 5-man gear to 10-man gear you encounter that "in-between stage" of not being optimized.

I remember it happening on my Priest. My mana regen had been great for 5-mans but as soon as I started getting 10-man gear I started having issues. It wasn't until I got decked out in 10-man (and some 25-man) purples that my mana regen settled. I'm at the point now that when I'm running low on mana I can throw out my shadowfiend and get it back. By the time I'm out of mana again, either the fight is over, or the shadowfiend is available again.

I'm now experiencing that in-between stage on my mage. I mentioned recently that I had gotten three nice 10-man epics. Although they increased my overall stats, I'm finding that my mana regen is poor. Of course, I can't forget that, on the advice of mage forums and blogs, I have stopped using Mage Armor (that allows for mana regen in combat) and have begun using Molten Armor (which increases crit based on spirit). As a result my dps has jumped quite a bit. But, my mana regen has suffered. The interesting thing is that it seems to be suffering more now that I have this better gear.

One possible reason is that this new gear lowered my hit rating. So, I had to use swap out gems that had previously given me other stats (like SP, Int, Mp5) for gems that gave +hit. Previously most of my hit came on the items themselves.

So...I'm suspecting that when I get more 10-man gear I'll start seeing hit on the items again, allowing me to swap out the +hit gems and it will all normalize again.

Why am I saying this? No reason other than I think it's an interesting phenomenon. As you get better gear, you get more powerful but lose efficiency. That is, until you get just the right amount of new gear to bring back that efficiency. And when that happens...your power increases greatly.

Can't wait for my efficiency to come back! :-)

June 2, 2009

This past weekend had its high points and its low points. When all was said and done, it was a good one. :-) I don't even remember what I did on Friday night. I think that's the night that I tried healing a VoA Heroic but we couldn't get the new boss down. But, I really don't remember.

Have My Friends Forgotten Me?
On Saturday I logged in and checked the status of our Naxx invite. Everyone except two people had declined. Lots of them were on line. Several whispers later I understood what had happened. All of them had made alternate Naxx plans with the same people on the invite. Huh? Well, I guess with our Raid Leader on sabbatical most people started making other plans. Part of me understands this but another part doesn't. If we sent out an invite, doesn't that mean we're planning on going, even though our Raid Leader is on sabbatical?

Anyway...so I sat there wondering what to do. I had my heart set on going to Naxx and was now unable to. None of the other groups had spots for me. This brings me to the title of this section....have my friends forgotten me?

WARNING: Self Pity Time

After months of helping my friends in instances and raids, getting no equipment for myself but going just to be with friends and help gear them up, I find myself suddenly alone. No one is returning the favor. They're geared and in Naxx without me, not even considering inviting me to join them. I felt betrayed, abandoned, used, unappreciated. All that and more. I let these feeling fester until I couldn't take it anymore and I logged off.

The honest truth -- I was mad at myself. The whole situation was my fault for several reasons. I knew long ago that, if I wanted to raid, I should move my toons to a raiding guild. But I didn't. When my guild broke up I had the perfect opportunity to join an established raiding guild. But I didn't. Instead I went back to my previous guild of 5 people, knowing full well that a couple would have to go on sabbatical. (And, little did I know that the other couple would do the same thing.) So, I am now all alone in a guild. And I'm angry at myself for putting myself into this position.

After taking a couple hours off to rethink it all, I logged back in with a better outlook. I reached out to the leaders of both of the "competing" raids and asked them to include me on their invites for the coming week. They were both very happy to invite me and...I got the invites by the end of the day.

Problem solved. Lesson learned: Passive aggression doesn't work.

Naxxramas (heroic)
Later that afternoon I got an invite to a heroic Naxx run that needed DPS. I was reluctant at first, considering my mage still didn't have normal Naxx gear. My reluctance was warranted. I was bottom of the DPS chart. And they noticed. The whole run is a blur to me -- I don't even remember which quarter we were in. I just know my DPS was so low that they chose to boot me.

Naxxramas
With my spirits low, I persevered and spent most of the rest of Saturday in LFG, waiting for an invite to regular Naxx. Finally late in the day it arrived. It was a guild run with only two non-guildies. They were a very nice group. Very nice. I'm not sure which guild number I'm up to at this point. Maybe #5?

We started in Arachnid and got down the first boss easily. We wiped on the second boss. With trepidation, I spoke up and suggested they not move the boss so far from her minions, so she'd be close when we killed each one. We executed it flawlessly. My spirits began to rise.

Oh...and I was top of the DPS chart. :-)

We got to Maexxna. After three wipes (so reminiscent of our first guild runs), we finally got her down.

Then we moved on to Plague wing. No problems with Noth, but on Heigan I was so embarassed. I died on the first try because of misjudging a stopping point. On the second try my NAV activated and popped me out of the game. Though they were light hearted about it, they surely didn't believe my story. We got him down, despite my deaths. :)

Then we got to Loatheb. That was my first time on him as DPS. It was so much easier than as a healer. I remained at the top of the charts and I also got two drops -- tier shoulders and a shiny new staff with a living bat on the tip. I was elated at having gotten the shoulders...considering my priest who is decked out in 25-man gear is still wearing blue shoulders! And the staff, well, that was icing on the cake.

That was the end of the night...resuming on Monday.

Naxxramas (heroic)
I tell you, my memory is truly failing. On Sunday, which was only yesterday, I spent the day playing on either my mage or my priest. But, I can't remember anything that took place before I joined a 25-man Naxx run on my priest in the evening. Ugh...I hate getting old. It hasn't even been 24 hours and I can't remember what I did.

So...I joined a PuG for 25-man Naxx. It was a group that had already done Arachnid and had gotten as far as Heigan in Plague. So, after over an hour of waiting for all the spots to fill, we started the run. Heigan was a disaster. I can proudly say that I was the last to die on each failed attempt. Some days I can do the dance with no problem. Why can't I always do so?

Anyway...after the fourth attempt, I was ready to leave. I had already invested a few hours and we were still on the first encounter. People were just not getting the dance. But, I decided to give it one more try. Having been identified as the healing lead since my heals were highest and I was the only healer who could actually dance, I instructed all those who could do so to purge the disease. (I had noticed that, although 5 people in the raid could do it, only two of actually were.) The next attempt was successful. And I I got a beautiful new trinket. One of the nice things was that everyone was saying that I fully deserved it, regardless of whether or not I won the roll, because of my excellent performance, healing leadership and patience with them.

Any doubts about my self esteem were erased. I am good at this game! :-)

After several bad attempts at making it through the hallway to Loatheb, we finally had someone switch to his warlock. Loatheb went down -- boom!

At that point we decided to stop. There were lots -- LOTS -- of annoyed people. We had all spent about 4 hours and had only gotten down two bosses. That's what happens when you try to organize a 25-man pug. At least I got a trinket out of it.

Naxxramas (part2)
Last night after work I went back to Naxx on my mage with the group from Saturday night. There was some crisis (ment) at the beginning that had to be worked out, but we got on our way within a half hour after the scheduled time. We headed to the Construct quarter first -- brought down Patchwerk on the first shot. My dps was a respectable 3200. I was stoked. We followed up with a one-shot on Grobbulus.

Then Gluth. Ahh...Gluth. After two wipes, we switched a dps out for his tank. It's so much easier with three tanks.

Thaddius was next -- only one death. It was such an easy kill and my dps was way up there again. And....I got a fashionable new hat (which looks quite a bit like the one on my priest). Although the guys were really nice, I could tell they were not overly happy with me getting another item. It was the third for me for the week, but the only one from yesterday. And, since the loot tally was reset yesterday, they graciously gave it to me. Yay!

We went to Military quarter and tried three times to do the Instructor fight. Each attempt went better than the previous, but we still failed. After the third wipe, we decided to call it.

So...I went from feeling sorry for myself at the beginning of the weekend to being elated that I had so much time in Naxx and I had three new pieces for my mage and one for my priest.

I do feel kinda bad for the guild with the crisis. They liked me a lot (I was the top DPS) and indicated that they would like me to come back with them. But, tomorrow starts my new schedule of going with the guilds that were "competing" with my guild's regular time slot. So...I've gone from no invites to too many.

What's a girl to do? :)

Warlock Aggro

I finally learned a lesson about warlock aggro last night. But, before I get to that, I'll give some background.

(Good) Healers are always aware of who is drawing aggro in a group. And in my previous guild there was one warlock who couldn't control himself. I remember gritting my teeth in Mana Tombs, chiding him one more time for not having given the tank long enough to secure aggro before he went all out. In my early days of healing I'd do what I could to keep the warlock alive as the big bad boss was pounding on him. But I quickly learned that doing so was just suicide...we all know that once the warlock went down, the boss turned his focus to me.

After dozens of guild runs, he finally got it. Then he went to the other extreme. Instead of casting, he would use his wand. There were two reasons for this. The first was to control his aggro, which I appreciated. The second was that he had no idea how to use Life Tap...but that's another story altogether.

Then Wrath came and the cycle started all over. He got this wonderful new spell that turned him into a demon. He would blow that cooldown at the very beginning of almost every boss fight. And, consequently, he was the first to die. I was so convinced he understood threat in the game, but I was sorely mistaken.

We're no longer guildies and I rarely see him anymore. But I thought about him yesterday.

You see, I was in Zul'Farrak yesterday on my lvl 47 affliction warlock. As affliction, my dps on trash is naturally low compared to that of others in the group. As we worked our way through the instance, I kept watching the gap between my dps and that of the others continue to widen. My ego began to suffer. I didn't need to be on top of the dps chart, but I couldn't accept being so far behind.

So, what did I do? I started dotting everything. Of course, I know how threat works, so I *cough* gave my tank time to gain aggro before dotting. But, for some unkown (lol) reason one or two mobs in each pull became interested in me. How could that happen? Why was the tank so bad? *cough*

My dps was rising...slowly. And so were the amount of heals directed my way.

Then we came to Gah'Zrilla. A big boss...time for the affliction warlock to shine. I'd be able to load him up with dots and the fight would last long enough for me to reapply them.

Tank goes in. I fire shadow bolt. I figured the casting time would be just enough for the tank to draw aggro. Aggro meter: 20%.

I cast Curse of Agony then Corruption. Aggro meter: 35%.

I cast Immolate. Aggro meter: 70%

I cast Life Tap then Drain Life.

I was dead about 5 seconds later.

Time to apologize to my old warlock friend.

Patterns of Behavior cont.

(another non-WoW post)

So I finally called my mother and my sister yesterday. I just couldn't postpone doing so any longer. In their voices I could hear disappointment mixed with joy. Joy for finally hearing my voice. Disappointment for having had to wait so long to hear back from me. It was painful. But, as each conversation ended I thought, "That was nice. I'm glad I spoke with them."

All is well, right?

No. I fear (know?) I've just reset the cycle. My sister's birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Will I call her on her birthday? Or will I wait until it passes then give an excuse as to why I was so darned busy on her birthday that I just couldn't take 5 minutes to call her? And, when I do call her, if I don't reach her, will I pick up the phone when she calls back? Or will I let her leave a message and then wait days or weeks to respond?

Or will I finally act like a responsible mature adult and do what's right? I want my sister, my mom, my family, my friends to all be happy. Why do I willfully do something that hurts them?