A few nights ago, I set a personal best, in Heroic Utgarde Keep with 1776 dps, as a tank.

Then last night, UK was the heroic daily again! So I found  a group, let them know that I try to chain pull the whole place (unless my random pug healer needs mana) and that I try to finish the instance before I have to buff myself/them again. This pug seemed to like that. Last night, I destroyed my personal best dps from a few nights ago by a lot!

The first run is where I started trying to run the instance as fast as possible, with downtime only coming when I’m running to the next pull or when my healer needs mana. I forgot to loot on occasion while doing this. I spammed consecration on every pull, every cooldown, but I rarely used Avenging Wrath. I know I could increase my dps by a lot more if I could remember to use my wings. My dps increased greatly on my last two speed runs. I never really paid attention to my dps until I realized I was 2nd on recount. I was used to putting out about 1400ish dps when I would look at the meters. This is fun now. I’m looking foward to my first run where my dps is over 2k!

© petewood for my everything else blog..., 2009. | Permalink
Post tags: dps, heroic, Tanking, uk

I have a very decent set of tanking gear (including the Bolstered Legplates from Heroic Violet Hold). I just got the 16 expertise JC pattern,  the Precise Scarlet Ruby and I have enough JC buy the 41stam Dragon’s Eye pattern, the Solid Dragon’s Eye. I can make the stamina oriented trinkets as well.

Right now, my biggest problem with my tanking gear is that I was still under 20k health! Now that I have my JC up and can make all those wonderful things, my health should be fine.

My defense might suffer a bit since I’ll have to drop my two BC defense trinkets (Dabiri’s Enigma and  Adamantine Figurine) but I have the Argent Dawn head enchant (Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector) and the Son’s of Hodir shoulder enchant (Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle) to help make up for it. I can also put on some defense enchants/gems if I fall below the 535 defense rating required for being uncrittable by Heroic bosses – level 82. You need a 540 defense rating is required to be uncritabble by raid bosses – level 83.

My most immediate gear goal will be a tanking weapon. Right now, I have the Warsong Punisher, which has very little stam (36) and some dodge (and no defense rating). My immediate choices are from running heroic Utgarde Keep (which is ultra easy) or from the last boss of heroic Utgarde Pinnacle (which I’ve run once – as ret, got to the last boss and proceeded to wipe over and over again). From H UK, I can get the Infantry Assault Blade. From H UP, I can get the Red Sword of Courage.

In regards to the focus of this blog, I’ll still be talking/posting about being ret, but will post more and more about being prot specced in the future.

© petewood for my everything else blog..., 2009. | Permalink
Post tags: dual spec, jewelcrafting, pally, prot, ret, staminna, Tanking

It started out with a very fast run through regular Halls of Lightning (HoL). I got two very good dps upgrades, hands (Fists of Loken) and shoulders (Pauldrons of the Lightning Revenant).

The tank asked if we’d like to get some easy Emblems of Heroism. He said it was one of the simplest heroic instances in the game. I figured why not, I’ve gotten some decent gear and I’m dps is pretty high (IMO). Since my two new items had gem slots, I asked if they would summon me after I went to Orgrimmar to get some gems for them and they agreed, so off I went! Since the items were only blues, I didn’t want to put any really good gems in them, so I settled for some uncommon (green) gems, Perfect Inscribed Huge Citrine for the gloves and Bold Bloodstone for the shoulders.

We finally zone into heroic Utgarde Keep and the entire instance ran was very smooth (and simple). We finished in about 30 or 40 minutes, which is fantastic for a heroic. I remember heroics from the last expansion taking between 60 and 90 minutes. We downed the final boss in UK (Ingvar the Plunderer)  and he drops some epic plate legs, the Staggering Legplates! There are three plate wearers in the group (me, the tank and a dps death knight) who all rolled need on them and I won them! My first heroic and I’m walking out of here with some badass pants!! Woot! I went back to the auction house in Org and bought an epic leg armor kit, Icescale Leg Armor and a couple of new gems for them, Perfect Bold Bloodstone and Perfect Inscribed Huge Citrine.

I got achievements for my first Emblem of Heroism and also for completing Heroic Utgarde Keep.

I also ran Heroic Violet Hold with another group and got a couple more achievements, Defenseless and Heroic: The Violet Hold. That run went very smooth, despite my low weapon skill in maces, but I had to keep using my new Titansteel Destroyer. I believe I started the instance doing 1200 dps (weapon skill was 350/400). By the end of the instance, my weapon skill only rose to 385!

Last night, I ran the same two heroics again, both with different groups. I didn’t receive any new gear upgrades but I was gaining rep and getting some more Emblems. Now that I’m comfortable doing heroics (and now am farming Emblems of Heroism), I need to update my gear wish list to include heroic instances!

© petewood for my everything else blog..., 2008. | Permalink
Post tags: drop, heroic, pally, ret, utgarde keep, violet hold

That was a great idea if I have to say so myself! Last night, I dinged 75 and I still have not finished Borean Tundra. Technically, I’m still in the starting zones!

Leveling was definitely not this easy in the Burning Crusade! I’m sure it’s helped that I’ve done a LOT of the new instances as well. I’ve completed Utgarde Keep four times, three of which I tanked, the Nexus about five times, all as ret and Azjol-Nerub twice, as ret.

Azjol-Nerub is insanely short and very easy. I believe there are only 9 pulls in the whole instance and 3 bosses. I received various gear upgrades for all of my gear sets – dps, tanking and healing.

I’ve been leveling mostly as ret. I did respec for a short time in Howling Fjord so that I could tank Utgarde Keep for the group I was in. I was going to go back to ret immediately after that group but I decided I’d try leveling as prot. It wasn’t bad at all! With Hammer of the Righteous, prot leveling has never been easier. I did go back to ret after gaining 75% of a level as prot, but now that I have Shield of Righteousness, I’m very intrigued and might just go back to prot to level, since I’d be able to tank any instance I wanted to step foot in and tanks are somewhat difficult to find while leveling.

The next zone is Dragonblight. I hope some of the quests turn out to be a little more difficult than the two starting zones.

I’ve got to point out that the amount of healing gear that I’ve accumulated is somewhat maddening! If a quest reward didn’t upgrade my dps or my tanking sets, then I took whatever piece of armor had the most intellect or spellpower, with an emphasis on intellect.

© petewood for my everything else blog..., 2008. | Permalink
Post tags: azjol-nerub, borean tundra, dragonblight, howling fjord, leveling, nexus, prot, ret, tank, utgarde keep, wotlk