After grilling out, my husband and I sat down for a little bit of WoW. Since it was still relatively early and sunset (and fireworks) were many hours off, we joined the majority of our guild in a bout of fishing. Actually, all of us were finally getting around to leveling up our fishing skill. Several were fishing in Orgrimmar while some of us were skilling up in the Outlands.
Okay, I know it’s not really the final chapter because I’ll be in Kara again next week. It just sounded good. Tonight, though, we finished the rest of Karazhan. I really like how we manage to run Kara and still get the raiders and core raiders to their main raid on time.
All we had left in Kara tonight was Netherspite, Chess Event, and Prince Malchezaar. All three were fun. We did have some issues with Prince due to bad infernal drops, so we wiped and got him down on the second attempt.
For those of you who don’t know, Prince Malchezaar is probably my most hated NPC in Karazhan. Most people would assume it is because of the randomness of the fight. No, that isn’t it. Although, that is one fight that is completely out of your control. The reason I am not fond of this fight is because out of the ten times that I have seen the Mindblade drop in the last 1.5 years while playing Bansidhe, I have lost every roll. Tenryuu often jokes about how bad my luck is when it comes to my random rolls. I’m definitely not the one you want to take with you if you’re looking to win big in Vegas.
Tonight my luck changed. Prince Malchezaar was kind enough to drop the Nathrezim Mindblade along with the Ruby Drape of the Mysticant. The mage rolled a 94, and I, for once, rolled a 99. I am now the proud owner of one beautiful Mindblade. I also got to take home the ruby cloak. And, of course, Tenryuu had to add, “It’s only taken you over a year, a new race, and a new class to finally win that.” Yeah, yeah, I know. However, I’m still excited!
Tonight marks night two of Karazhan on Slainte. I’m really enjoying it again. On Bansidhe, I think I was starting to really burn out on Kara (and raiding in general).
We still had Bearpimp tanking, but we gained a new protection paladin with Pallybarry. It seems like we have an abundance of healers within the guild, so he decided to go to a tanking spec. He’s run so much Karazhan as a holy paladin and picked up so much off-spec gear that he has all but three pieces for his tanking set. I’m looking forward to him tanking on a regular basis and would even consider switching to holy to be his dedicated healer.
We started with The Curator. It’s never been a fight I enjoyed on Bansidhe because I felt she never had enough burst damage to keep up with the sparks. However, tonight, I had so much fun with Slainte. The Curator went down pretty quickly, and he dropped Gloves of the Fallen Defender. Since no one else needed it for main spec or an off-spec, I picked them up. I was hoping to see the Staff of Infinite Mysteries, but I’m ecstatic to have picked those gloves up tonight.
We then visited Illhoof. What a completely different fight that was since I wasn’t playing my warlock. I’m used to having to drop Seed of Corruption over and over again. It was a real treat to see that fight from another perspective. He dropped the Cincture of Will, which was actually better than the green that I was wearing, along with Pauldrons of the Solace-Giver, which no one else needed.
Shade of Aran was fun also, but we had to call it a night because Tenryuu and Chiryugho got some baby aggro. (I blame the incoming storm.) However, before they left, Chiryugho won the Tirisfal Wand of Ascendancy. Grats, sis!
Tonight was my first foray into Karazhan; well, it was my first foray on Slainte as a shadowpriest. The raid started early around 6:30, which is nice. I’m used to raids starting at 7:30 or 8:00, so sometimes that can make for a long evening.
We only went up to the Opera event because there was a raid slated for BT around 8:30. I like that this guild tries to run people through Karazhan before and after the main raids. I’m grateful that I don’t have to attempt to PUG Kara.
Tonight, we had a druid tank, who did a damn fine job of tanking. I think a great majority of people go with this Karazhan group simply because of Bearpimp. He’s quite irreverent. The best way I can describe him is to describe his military experience. He’s an officer in the USAF; however, he was an enlisted NCO before becoming an officer and has not yet lost the enlisted attitude (much to the chagrin of his fellow officers and to the delight of his enlisted folks). He makes a raid fun.
I would have to say that this is one of the best Karazhan runs I have been on in the last year. (I was in Kara way too much with Bansidhe. ) Even Romulo and Julianne went smoothly with the Bearpimp tanking both at once. I was impressed, and I really enjoyed going.
Tenryuu explained to me that this particular group was comprised of pretty much well geared characters, so most were simply going for the badges and the good time that our druid tank offered. That means I’d have a chance at shadowpriest gear and off-spec gear.
I ended up with Handwraps of Flowing Thought from Attumen. The Maiden was kind enough to drop Boots of Foretelling. To round out the night, I picked up a healing gown - Masquerade Gown. Not too shabby.
I did learn, though, that I must adjust the size of my SCT because in a large group, I see a lot of mana and healing text filling up my screen. Definitely different than when I am alone.
Our guild leader has made a few changes to the rules. Some people have complained. Others have offered constructive criticism with solutions. Personally, I don’t care either way because like the price of gas, it’s out of my control. My perspective is that I’m part of this guild, and my guild leader does listen to what members say, contrary to public opinion, but inevitably, what he finally chooses is what we follow. If I’m not happy, I know where the door is.
First, we now have DKP. There are many opinions out there on this particular loot system, but free rolls in twenty-five mans was just not working for us. Neither was loot council. Human nature gets in the way on that one, and it’s hard to be objective when friendships are involved. When multiple people are on a loot council and always group together, it looks bad when they choose someone from their clique as the receiver of loot. They may not have intentionally done this, but appearances need to be factored into the equation. That kind of stuff can be divisive. Read the rest of this page »
