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Finally Getting To Level 80

Posted by on Dec 2, 2008 in Commentary |

Well, the leveling took longer than usual. Two weeks after I got WotLK, I finally managed to get my rogue up to 80. It’s a week longer than I anticipated, which made me think about the time it took to get from level 1 to 70 (about a month). My /played showed that I needed 7-9 hours to get from one level to the next (70-71, for example), which is roughly the same rate that I got from the previous expansion (going from 60-61). While it’s a nice parallel, I still wish I leveled faster.

Every WoW player will tell you that maxing your level is actually only the beginning. When you get to that point, it’s time to get your character geared. The entry level dungeon is Naxxramas, so just like TBC’s Karazhan, it’s time to get pre-Naxx gear. The problem with that is I can’t find any pre-Naxx gear list of rogues yet, so I’ll have to wait for that. For now, I’m going to try to follow WoW Insider’s rep reward list and go from there.

The last thing I want to mention is that I’ll be linking my armory page to the site permanently. My intent is to get feedback regarding my gear, talents and other things related to being a rogue. WotLK is so new I’m having a hard time getting the information I need, so anything that will help improve my DPS output will be great.

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On Clearing Karazhan

Posted by on Oct 21, 2008 in Commentary |

Our guild finally cleared Karazhan last weekend. I know that it’s probably laughable at this point considering how long WoW has been around, but you have to understand that we’re a small guild composed of real-life friends, so getting people to raid 10-man dungeons is a challenge in itself. Getting all ten to be geared enough to handle Kara is a different task altogether, but you can probably visualize the difficulties from there.

Anyway, thanks to the nerfs by patch 3.0.2, we finally cleared it. I’m actually looking forward to progression at this point. The expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, is less than a month away. It would be nice if we could somehow clear Zul’Aman before that.

Which brings me to the next issue: loot distribution. We saw two examples of how loot can become an issue during our Kara run, so I need to find a way to prevent it from escalating. Right now, I’m looking at various DKP systems, so I hope I’ll be able to find one that suits all of us. Again, we’re all friends, so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince everyone to use shift loot distribution, but maybe I’m being naive.

I am also the guild master of a group of friends in World of Warcraft, a position that I love and have grown to occasionally dislike at the same time. How I became the GM is sort of a coincidence. Back when we were new to the game, I was the only one who studied the guild creation process. When we executed it, I became the guild master. Since then, no one has protested.

It’s a position that I have carried for two years. I’m only writing about it now because it never bothered me before until recently. It was only during the last couple of months when I felt the responsibility, pressure and burden of—well, leadership. I know it’s only a game, but when you’ve got ten or so people relying on you for progression, activities and events, it’s not as easy to dismiss. Thankfully, WoW has more than enough content for everyone and the Kara raid, something we’ve been organizing for the past two weeks, has given me a personal boost. I’m glad we cleared it. It’s certainly an uplifting way to end an otherwise stressful week.

So there you have it. My first WoW-related post. Hopefully the loot system will push through this week. I just hope my guildmates respond well.

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