Giving Her All She's Got

Scotty: "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!"

Kirk: "All she's got isn't good enough!  What else have you got?"

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Last night our raid team attempted Festergut (25).  Nine attempts in all, and at the end of the night he was still standing. It wasn't a total waste of effort and we did reach the point where it was the enrage timer that was killing us. Two attempts had him at 7% and 6%.

I felt pretty good about how I was doing.  Nobody was complaining, and my dps was well within the range it needed to be, but the boss wasn't going down. The raid leader was also getting antsy, telling us we needed to step it up (naturally it was in that non-constructive way, like when a track coach tell his runners they need to run faster).

Now on Star Trek it's usually some dramatic, risky, untested, unconventional and highly theoretical solution that saves day.  In WoW those opportunities rarely present themselves.  Nope, we have to dig deep to find that extra bit of healing or dps that's needed to get the job done.  We have to keep doing what we're already doing, only we have to do it better.

Below are a couple of attempts both resulting in wipes due to the enrage timer.  I can't remember what percentage we had him to in the first attempt, but it wasn't one of the 6% or 7% attempts I mentioned in the beginning.  I do know that on the final one we got him to 6%.

Festergut Enrage Wipe I

Festergut Enrage Wipe II

As you can see my dps went up quite a bit in the second attempt.  Now there are many factors that can result in fluctuating DPS numbers. Procs, buffs, debuffs and the RNG will all lead to a variance.  Still though, adjustments (even tiny ones) also play a part.

After each attempt I try to evaluate my performance.  I sit back and ask myself questions such as,

• Am I economizing on my movement, firing instants and pausing for auto shots?
• Am I maximizing my GCDs? Perhaps I'm firing a Steady Shot when Chimera or Aimed are up (old BM habits die hard sometimes).
• Am I using Readiness and Rapid fire correctly?
• Am I recasting Serpent Sting the first time my T10 2-set bonus procs?
• Am I maximizing my cooldown stacking?
• Have I tried pre-potting a speed potion?
• I recently got some new gear, are my gems and enchants in order? Let's see I'm a JC and I'm using both of my allotted JC only gems. Both!? KHAAAANNNNNN!

Ultimately this is about attitude. It's very easy to sit back and blame the other guy saying, "My dps is fine, it's the lower half that needs to pick up their game." This may be true, but I can't play the other guy's toon.  I can only play mine, and I choose to be happy with how I play, but never satisfied. As the poet Robert Browning once wrote, "Ah but a man's reach should exceed his grasp..."

So my question to you is are you giving it all she's got, and is all she's got good enough, and if not, what else have you got?

Good Hunting! Live Long and Prosper!

MMQB: The Spore is Not the Bomb

Another raid week is in books (man these go by quick) so here is my weekly round-up of events and happenings in my little pond.

Our 25-man progression did its usually four-boss kill in ICC.  We're very close to having that first wing on farm status.  In fact, we managed to get the I've Gone and Made a Mess (25) achievement.  I guess we weren't as far off from getting that as I thought.  I still have some doubts about our strategy (post incoming at some point), but it has worked two weeks in a row now.

Clearing the first four bosses meant we got to spend some time on the new bosses.  I was very optimistic about our chances, but we were shut-out by both Festergut and Rotface.  We spent the majority of our time on Festergut.

The good news is that Festergut is a very simple fight for hunters.  Just stay spread out, dps like mad, and get inoculated.  That's it.  One thing to note is that all of the gas damage is shadow and not nature.  Please refuse any and all requests to use Aspect of the Wild in this fight.

Also, the spore that appears over players' heads is not a bomb.  Please stop running away when you get this, it's not helpful.

Gear Watch

I've finally got enough DKP to cause some trouble.  I don't have enough to win anything, but I can influence the bidding and minimum buy out price on items (post incoming at some point).

Items I didn't Get

• Zod's Repeating Longbow (I don't suppose it will drop three weeks in a row?)
• Snowserpent Mail Helm (don't really need/want anyway).
• Protector's Mark of Sanctification x2 (It doesn't make the shoulders I've got.  It's makes the shoulders I've got better).

Items I did Get

• Reins of the Green Proto-Drake (finally).

I did the first four bosses in ICC (10) this week and absolutely nothing I could use dropped.  It was abysmal.

Ten Things I'm Thinking About

1. I did a Baron mount run for fun.  No mount, but regular Stratholme feels more like going back in time than CoS does.
2. I finished the week 500 rep. points short of revered for the Ashen Verdict.  It was just that kind of week.
3. We're adding TotGC (25) to our raid schedule.  I've got a bad feeling about this.
4. A lot of people like to click accept on the calendar invite and then not show up.  Weird.
5. Rumor has it that Cataclysm Alpha is starting.  That means somewhere out there is a hunter using focus.  I'm scared.
6. Our guild needs to clamp down on the ICC (10) alt. runs.  It's taking time and players away from completing main runs.
7. My dungeon finder only seems capable of finding Halls of Stone.
8. I'm giving MM another go.
9. Things die so fast in heroics (even the bosses) that it's not a great place to get used to MM.
10. I want to go home now, so that's number 10.

Good Hunting!