Raid angst.

Bit of a moan this time...

Wulf has now been raiding with CD for about nine months. In that time we've completed Zul'Gurrub, Molten Core and Onyxia, got all but the last boss down in AQ20 and have taken down five out of the eight bosses in Blackwing Lair. Not the most stellar career, but not bad for a semi-casual raid group which started with a load of folks in sub-standard gear.

As it stands, Wulf's gear is pretty much as good as it can reasonably get. He's almost got his full Tier 1 armour set, his epic quest bow and a set of really nice weapons for both raid use and for PVP/soloing. Once he gets his Helm from Molten Core, he'll be by and large sorted for gear.

And I'm spending 3-4 nights a week working on Blackwing Lair with CD, and realising nothing I want drops there, with the exception of a couple of trinkets/jewelry. The Hunter Tier 2 is a sad joke, not enough of an upgrade from Tier 1 to be worth the effort to obtain. Plus it makes Wulf look like Barney the sodding Dinosaur!

AQ40 is a similar boat, ugly class armour set and nothing of real interest beyond a few trinkets and a couple of weapons.

The sad fact is, because they changed the way Hunter damage worked in patch 1.10, most of the ranged weapons in instances before that (all the ones I've just listed) just don't offer that much of an upgrade, so therefore aren't worth the stupid bidding wars that will follow their drops. This is frustrating to say the least, given that every patch and every new instance sees newer, sicker weapons for the melee classes that see them pull further and further ahead of us in the damage stakes. Hunter itemisation sucks because we're the only class that actually relies on our ranged weapons.

Now Naxxramas, the new instance in 1.11, finally starts to offer something in the way of compensation for this change, in the shape of cool-looking class armour and a ranged weapon that is actually a substantial upgrade at long last. Sadly, since CD haven't even managed a foothold into AQ40, I'm not sure when we'll be getting into Naxxramas.

So week after week, I'll show up for raids, watch my DKP total go up, my gold go down as I pay for ammo and repairs and see drop after drop which honestly isn't worth it. Why? Because I love the people I'm playing with, and the challenges that these new encounter bring, but I've grown weary of the rewards my beloved class recieves for it.

On my pets.

Well, now that my epic quest's over with, I suppose I should try another bit of Hunter writing, rather than another iterminably dull "Wulfsblood gets lewt" posts. So, I'm gonna talk about that oft-maligned and marginalised part of the Hunter class, the pet.

As soon as a Hunter hits level ten, they get the ability to tame wild beasts as a companion. Principally, these are used to distract an enemy and keep them at a distance so that the Hunter can unleash his wide variety of ranged attacks at keep them at a distance. This is one of the reasons why Hunters are so devastating in solo play, since they effectively have a second character which, whilst not as powerful as the Hunter himself, can do respectable damage and prevent the Hunter himself from being hurt.

Compared to Warlocks (the other pet-using class) our relationship with our pets is a unique one. Hunter pets require feeding and care to maintain their loyalty. A neglected pet won't be able to learn many skills, it won't fight as effectively, and will eventually abandon the Hunter if this isn't checked. Also, they usually need to be trained in new abilities as they gain experience which the Hunter himself has to learn by taming other wild beasts.

All in all, a Hunter's pets are a labour of love, the mechanics behind them cause some to become frustrated with this aspect, but for me and most others, it reinforces their importance, and the relationship they have with the character. I have spent hours levelling and training various pets for Wulf, and rarely has it felt like time wasted.

However, the sad fact is that whilst pets are a powerful leveling tool, their uses in Raid instances are limited. Once they hit level 60, there's no real way to make the stronger or better, so they tend to contribute comparatively less and less to a raiding hunters damage output. They don't warrant much attention from healers, which means they tend to die very quickly if the enemy has heavy damage area of effect attacks. That said, I've found a few uses for my pets which make them invaluable.

Ironically, given his name, Wulfsblood didn't actually take his first Wolf pet until he was level 60. For most of his levelling, Wulf, like so many Hunters before him took a succession of cat pets. The cat is a solid choice for a levelling Hunter. It does higher damage than most other pets, which means you can kill enemies quicker, but it has less health and armour, so it'll die if you're not careful. The higher damage output also makes it ideal if you're at all interested in Player Versus Player engagements. Currently Wulf keeps a cat for this purpose, a Frostsaber Pride Watcher called Felrazor. Using the Prowl ability, he's able to sneak up on enemy before unleashing a series of brutal attacks that will injure the enemy and prevent them from casting spells effectively whilst Wulf finishes them off.



However, for 90% of his time since hitting lvl 60, Wulf has relied on his main pet, a Worg called Grymhowl which he tamed in the depths of Lower Blackrock Spire. Wether he's raiding with Chaotic Divinity or soloing Dragonkin, Grymhowl tends to be his pet of choice, and he's almost as well known in CD as Wulf himself is! Wolves are average pets, they don't do as much damage as a cat, but they have better armour and health, so they can survive a beating for a bit longer. Grymhowl also has a strange quirk. Sometimes when he's summoned he's black...



and other times he's brown...



Wolves also have the Furious Howl skill, which lets them add to the damage of everyone in the party once every 10 seconds. I've set up a Macro that causes Grym to Howl just as Wulf casts an Aimed Shot, which gives the already powerful shot a touch more "oomph". This skill is especially useful since it means that Grymhowl can actively contribute to most fights without having to put himself in the line of fire. Also, For some fights, Wulf will actively possess Grymhowl and send him to get the attention of far away mobs, since once Grymhowl's dead they will follow the trail all the way back to Wulf and the rest of the raid. It may seem heartless, but it's easier and cheaper to ressurect a pet than it is to ressurect a character.

I have to confess, the pet aspect of the Hunter class was the least attractive part of it when I first started playing Wulf, but over time, I've come to see them as an integral extension of my playing style, solo and in raid. And to be fair, I've probably got two of the more conventional pet choices out there, considering Hunters can also tame six-legged crocodiles, winged serpents and giant scorpions to name a few. Still I'm happy with my choices and I wouldn't change em for anything!

W00t!

Finally got Wulf's Gianstalker Breastplate during last night's Molten Core run. All he needs now is the helm and he'll have the complete set. Can't wait to try out the eight-piece set bonus!

Newness!

A couple of bits of news on the Wulfsblood front. Sadly, Molten Core resolutely fails to drop the last two pieces of Gianstalker armour. After some six months of grinding that particular instance, I begin to appreciate why Blizzard moved to a token-based system for class-specific drops in their later instances.

However, I have finally reached Exalted with Zandalar after some seven months grinding Zul'Gurrub, so i got a shiney new shoulder enchant which boosts his damage dealing ability considerably.

And then, today with considerable help from Saphide, another CD Hunter, I finally got Artorius' head and was able to complete my Epic Quest!



Very cool bow as a reward!

And they call it shiney love...

Still no progress on Artorius. I've made a couple of scouting runs to his spawn point, but no sign of him. Still, I'm off work most of next week, so I might get a shot at him then.

Still, I've consoled myself with a couple of new shineys from Blackwing Lair. The Axe in particular is pimp as fook!



Also, because I keep running into folks who read this thing online or in-game, can you post a comment if you read this? I'm just curious about who the hell reads my interminable ramblings.

Pew Pew Pew!

It's been a less than happy couple of weeks for Chaotic Divinity. Summer is upon us and many of our regular raiders are busy with exams or strange activities relating to warm weather. Also, several of our Druids and one of our Priests have left for a variety of reasons, which is making raiding progress difficult. A recruitment drive is underway though, so we'll see where that leads us.

In slightly happier news, a CD Paladin pointed me at a fun mod this morning called Critman.

The effects are pretty funny:









It also plays the appropriate sound effects. Now all I need is the Batman TV Show soundtrack to enhance my gaming experience! :D