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Blood Pact: Catching up on Patch 5.3
by
Megan O'Neill
on May 20th 2013 (4 days ago)
I tried to gauge when Patch 5.3 would hit so that I'd end the series on World of Logs just in time, but unfortunately I overestimated and the new patch has cut me off. With my original plan of posts, I'd be a week short, but now...uhhhh it might be a halftime break.
In case you've missed the World of Logs posts so far, here's a recap:
- A brief overview of ranking and the combo of how to tell what warlock or pet you would or should be looking at,
- Looking closer at some of the graphs on World of Logs, and
- How to use the buffs and debuffs graph to gauge proper cooldown or proc usage, as well as a basic understanding of what stats (for trinket procs) do for each spec.
But this week? This week is a little shorter and lighter while we go over what Patch 5.3 means for warlocks.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: Buffs and debuffs for warlocks and logs
by
Megan O'Neill
on May 13th 2013 (11 days ago)
The last two weeks have been on simple topics like glancing at a raid parse on World of Logs (WoL) or looking at the various graphs WoL has. Before we dive into the actual combat log itself with the expression editor, I'm going to take a stop at what buffs and debuffs are going on in the fight. This information is still broad in scope and can apply to almost anyone, but it's still important foundation knowledge for warlocks and logs.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: WoL, 'locks, and damage done
by
Megan O'Neill
on May 6th 2013 (18 days ago)
Last week, I started off with some basics of World of Logs (WoL) regarding warlocks. I started to write a column to go spec by spec, but later I realized that might become a game of find and replace with the different buffs or DoTs important to each spec. So instead, this week is another general World of Logs lesson with a little more specific caster DPS focus with warlock flavor. We'll just build up to the nitty gritty spells next week.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: World of Logging warlocks, part 1
by
Megan O'Neill
on Apr 29th 2013 (25 days ago)
Occasionally I get a request to look through someone's raid log on World of Logs for warlock improvement. Sometimes it's for a guild applicant and sometimes it's for another tweeter. A thing I've thought about doing for a long time is a World of Logs 101 on warlocks -- both for warlock players and for non-warlock raid leaders.
I'm starting with the bare basics: how to tell warlocks apart on a World of Logs parse and exploring the DPS rankings. (It's actually not that difficult anymore!)
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: Find greater knowledge in elites' tricks
by
Megan O'Neill
on Apr 22nd 2013 (1 month ago)
Every time we hit Ji-Kun, I try to place a soulwell mid-air. There isn't any performance-breaking reason to do this other than pure amusement as raidmates try to "grab the cookie from my jar, young grasshopper." But it's possibly my favorite use of KJC so far.
This isn't an trick that requires super skill. Mostly, it's whether or not you can time your cast, your latency, and the wind that grabs you off Gastropod Boulevard.
But what I do like to do sometimes is watch elite players from the top guilds in the world do fights in a crazy or simply slightly different way. Usually this involves watching a lot of soloing videos: e.g, Spygnesy, who just uploaded a warlock solo of Ragnaros in Firelands. But when it comes to minor tips for huge meter wrecking, I love watching Sparkuggz of
Blood Pact: The chaotic influence of haste
by
Megan O'Neill
on Apr 15th 2013 (1 month ago)
I'm starting to dislike hit rating again. Previously, with reforging, it was totally possible to sit there with 14.96%, 14.97%, 14.98%, 14.99%, or the occasional rare times I nearly hit fifteen-even, just off by a mere handful of rating points. Now, with the huge amounts of stats on our gear, I feel like we're approaching Wrath-era hit rating juggling, where a new piece means you're way under hit cap or way over hit cap.
This is not a fun stat balancing. Hit is coming back around to the pre-reforge era where it it's actually irritating to balance, not just annoying.
But I don't want to talk about spell hit this time. I want to talk about the very-coolness of haste.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: Kanrethad's defeat at mortal hands
by
Megan O'Neill
on Apr 1st 2013 (1 month ago)
I promise, I won't put unfortunate spoilers in the header this time.
One of my favorite Blood Pacts to write was a narrative based around our spells and the hints of a fascinating possible subplot just for warlocks. Instead of writing a traditional, straightforward guide for the final boss in the quest for green fire -- Ackthal's already written a great one -- I want to celebrate my personal victory with the quest and another special occasion with this story post.
See, this is my 53rd Blood Pact. I believe a certain moonkin now owes me a crown for the longest reign as WoW Insider's Defense
For the sake of space, I've obviously shortened the story down from my actual experience with the final fight. But many of the elements are there, from spell details to actual NPC roleplay (none of the NPCs' dialogue is mine). Jump behind the cut to catch the story.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Blood Pact: To summon or not to summon, that's the question
by
Megan O'Neill
on Mar 25th 2013 (1 month ago)
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous pet bugs in encounter design like jumping down into Nefarian's pit in Blackwing Descent so your pet then did nothing but stand in the middle, or to take up Doomguards against a despawning abyssal phase 3 in Throne of the Four Winds -- and by opposing end them: to die, to sacrifice.
To sacrifice, perchance to DPS; Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what meter-topping dreams of 5.0 may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil (no, not that one!), must give our developers pause.
My terrible warlock Shakespeare adaptation aside, we've had the ponderings about how tied to pets warlocks should or shouldn't be. As I continue to throw myself at Kanrethad's own demonic stampede, I've had some thoughts about the subject.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
Pro Tip: Damage meters don't tell the whole story
by
Megan O'Neill
on Mar 19th 2013 (2 months ago)
Anyone who cares about whose bar is the longest is already measuring on their own screen. Not only is the reporter almost always on the top (and conveniently never reports when s/he is below), but displaying the damage done for a fight to the same raid who's on the meter is just pure epeen spill. Asking for a damage meter is just laziness (or, in rare cases, a really crappy computer paired with a log-intensive fight).
Let's not forget that problem of boiling a player down to a single number. All three roles of the holy triad have a complex set of abilities for every encounter.
Blood Pact: A pewpewer's notes from tanking and healing
by
Megan O'Neill
on Mar 18th 2013 (2 months ago)
I have a confession: I was once a tank. Technically I could have been half a tank, because I think I healed just as often, but once upon a time I rolled a druid with the intent of getting a melee DPS perspective.
One night in Wrath of the Lich King, my first guild had some trouble with kiting the adds on Gluth. So we upped the tank count to 3: the paladin tank moved to the back for holy tag with the undead while the former-bear warrior walked me through my feral spellbook as I sat in bear form on that pipe. I think it was the extra Mauls that hooked me. I became a bear tank with a branch-waving offspec.
I have fond memories of alt or PUG raids where I had cooldown-busting health pools and hero-bear resurrections between Gormok's death and the arena entrance of Acidmaw and Dreadscale. But as my guild tore apart in the beginnings of Icecrown Citadel, I've been back to pewpewing from the back as a warlock. My bear is merely an alt.
But my bear has made my warlock a little stronger.
Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria
