Frame of Mind...

I have a favorite video on Youtube that was put into a contest a year ago, I think, and won first place. I'm sure that most people who watch WoW videos have seen it but it really was one of the few videos that stuck out in my mind because of the lesson involved in it, and it seems even more appropriate to me now than ever.

Nobody sets out to lose themselves in the game. No one I know actively says that they will be choosing loot over friends, raids over groups, or anything like that. But it seems very easy to me to be able to lose sight of the real reason to play ANY game, WoW of course included, amidst trying to do what you set out to do in the first place.

Casual guilds like mine are forever in danger of the pitfalls of becoming a raiding guild, or vice versa, a raiding guild becoming too casual. Good players, like my wife (amongst others) are constantly at risk of becoming so dependent on addons and wow blogs that they can no longer see the game that they're playing, or are spending more time reading about the game than actually playing it. (No, I'm not actually saying this is true with K, I'm using her as a frame of reference for the caliber of player I think is most at risk.)

Every now and again it would serve anyone well to be reminded of exactly WHY they do what they do, so they can re-evaluate if WHAT they do is actually still moving them in the same direction they first started out intending to go.

And this video serves as a reminder to me, and maybe now to you, of exactly that. There are things far more important than raiding or efficiency or rules or ranks. No amount of epic loots, achievements accomplished, raid bosses downed, or Armory/WoW-Heroes rankings will ever replace or compare to downing VanCleef your first time, with your best friends.

Not ever.

Frame of Mind

A Hidden Secret Rating!

On my way to Stormwind I uncovered something I wish to share. Something so hidden, so secret (by Blizzard) that many of the up and coming level 80 DPS'ers have no idea it even exists. Yes, friends, I'm talking about the Secret Hit rating.

Here's how it works. As DPS we all know that we have to stack our respective skill sets in order to do massive number attacks on the things before us that must die. Whatever your class is, there's a balancing act to address when it comes to what you should stack and how.

One of these things to stack, though it should be at the bottom of your list really since it provides no large numbers that I can think of, is Hit Rating. This little number is Blizzard's way of making sure our numbers don't go too high so the tanks can do their jobs and such.

But what no one knows is that it's linked to a stat that isn't shown on equipment at all! The Secret Hit rating, which for sake of ease, I'll refer to as S-hit rating from now on.

And here's how it works out. For every point in hit rating you get, up to your hit cap, your S-hit rating goes DOWN as a DPS. The less hit rating you have, the higher your S-hit rating. So essentially, it's in all DPS' best interest to stop stacking hit rating completely. It's a win-win situation that Blizz really doesn't want us to know about. We'll have larger numbers when we hit, and a massive S-hit rating that isn't even showing up. And all DPS knows it's about the big numbers.

In the end it comes down to this question, fellow DPS'ers. Do you want to DPS with Hit or do you want to do S-hit damage instead? It's not really a question when you get down to it, eh?

So that's it in a nutshell. I may or may not be around to make more blogs as I've unveiled probably one of the biggest secrets in Blizzard history. Aside from their shameless copying of Boon jokes that they put the name of Chuck Norris in instead. Stealing from me to give to Chuck Norris, really? Like he isn't made of money after all of his Bowflex commercials.

The Dark Lady

So I'm Horde. I'm running around near Silvermoon and what should drop? A necklace with an interesting story behind it. I haven't completed the quest yet but I know what lies at the end of it. For anyone interested in the lore of World of Warcraft or just a well-done storyline, this one is certainly worth aspiring to view. With the new allowance of level 55 characters on any server as long as you have a 55 SOMEWHERE, you can even skip the Youtube videos and see it yourself if you like.

The item dropped at the tower on the western bluff of the Ghostlands. You really can't miss it, because if that were possible, I would have. ;)

P.S. Hopefully anyone wanting to play a Death Knight on a new server made theirs already. Reading over some notes from Blizzard it appears that they've suspended the creation on any server, and you can only create them (now) again back on servers that you are established on. I was attempting to test this and make a DK on the new server, Borean Tundra, and confirmed it. I could NOT make a Death Knight there. Fortunately my other new Death Knights still exist and are accessible!

You can't always get what you want...

...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.

I made this blog a long, long, long (did I mention long?) time ago with the idea that I would put here thoughts on WoW, being a guild leader, being in a successful guild, and from time to time, some insight into how I play my characters. It was called "Tales of a Guardian Knight" because MY guild is called Guardian Knights.

There's a running joke with me that some people know. I'm terrible at giving directions in-game. If you need to get somewhere, you really shouldn't put me on auto-follow. I'll kill you. You will perish in a most spectacular fashion. But most importantly, you will be dead nowhere near where you intended to be. I've, seriously, even placed people in wrong instances. If you put a gun to my computer and told me that the life of my little electrical friend was tied to my ability to lead a character into say, Steamvaults... I'd be buying a new computer.

So when someone asks me directions, I say "First, go to Stormwind". Each and every time. So I kind of figure it's as good a title as any and at least it has a bit more meaning than my first title.

Anyway, I'm a somewhat decent paladin. Spec? Any of them, though I figure I'm best at healing. I don't give answers to healing questions, but I'm happy to shoot the breeze and see what works best for you if you need it. I despise the opinion that there's a "right" way to spec a character or that there are "correct" ways of stacking gear. Player ability trumps gear trumps spec any day of the week. But really, I'm just a guy on the internet, why should you give a rip about what MY opinion of YOUR character is? See where I'm going?

That's me in a nutshell. I just started a new server with a Death Knight (thank you Blizzard for the implementation) so I'll probably be writing a few DK posts soon, and some spoofs on "serious" issues like gearing a character, what stats each class should stack, etc.

If you ever find yourself taking anything I say seriously, you should take a breath and re-read it with a more light-hearted tone. I'm just some guy, nobody special, average in every way, and the only real thing any of us share in common is that we play the same online video game. The only thing I ever really want someone to walk away from when partying with me, or dealing with me, is a good laugh, maybe a smile.

I'll see what I can do. But first...

go to Stormwind.