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I think that from time to time, in our excitement after an instance well run, we forget to thank people. I mean we almost always thank the healer, or we always say “Yeah, Great Job Team!” but I find that people forget to throw thanks in another direction sometimes. Personally, as a DPS, I find that I appreciate the contribution of the tank, or as I lovingly call them: “Meat Shield.” It is now that I write a small token of gratitude to all of you tanks.

Dear Meat Shield…err…I mean tank!

Thank you for always being the guy/gal who loves to jump in front of enemy attacks that are always aimed at my head.

Not to protect me of course, but because your ego loves the sound of things deflecting off of your armor.

Thank you for running to my aid when I pulled aggro off of you.

One question: Where does one learn such colorful language?

Thank you for grabbing mine enemies, holding them by the scruff of the neck and making them stare you in the eye as I shoot/stab them in the back repeatedly, seemingly ignored.

            Do they ever say anything to you in the way of evil bad guy banter? Do they ever say “Ow?”

Thank you for {Insert Awesome Party Wide Buff}.

            I can always use more attack power/mana/blood aura! Woot me!

Thank you for dying, getting battle rezzed, grabbing back aggro, and dying again just in time for us dps guys and gals to finish the baddie off.

            Um…here’s 10 gold for repairs?

Thank you for PewPew instead of QQ.

            I know that you QQ, but you do it in dark corners, or forums and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.

Thank you for marking when you’re also leader of the group (or as I like to call them, King of the Group….I mean they give you a danged crown next to your avatar!)

            I just hate marking.

Thank you for being so wrapped up in trying to hold aggro and do damage that you don’t notice my many flubs and goofs.

            When I say many…I mean….thousands…during one mob….Did you notice I wasn’t even shooting for the first half? Law and Order was on.

Thank you for consoling me when the news of Hunter Nerfage came out.

            DPS gets nerfed and your stuck holding the bag for even longer than usual…

Thank you for not asking me what Defense rating is.

            It happened to me once…/facepalm.

Thank you for not being too angry at my wonderful Tenacity Pet.

            I mean…yeah, they can tank…but I don’t want to waste mana rezzing them when you can be more of the healers problem.

And finally, Thank you for making my repair bill only about 3 gold when I know that yours must be somewhere around 40.

            Like…woah dude…woah…

Signed, Davlin

Shadowmeld: This ability will now properly restore threat when it is cancelled. In addition, it will correctly remove a player from combat if it is active when that player is the last person left alive that the creature hates. This ability is now also unusable while affected by Faerie Fire.

So if you use it mid-battle, when its over you recieve all aggro back. That stinks, but I guess its really only supposed to get you out long enough to maybe hit a potion or something? I don’t know, but I do like that it removes you from combat if you’re the last person standing. Yay to another feign death-like ability. If you’re a Night Elf hunter that’s gotta be super duper handy. If you’re a Night Elf squishy, that’s probably really helpful too. It gives you just enough time for your tank to pick up aggro.

Nice.

Different from what it was, but not necessarily worse…

Nice.

–Davlin

Ie: A guildy recently asked me “What’s the best class for a healer?”
And of course, one of our resident shamans felt it necessary to boast his class pride. Sadly, before I could voice my lengthy and rather well-informed opinion about the subject, the curious guildy felt compelled to take his new information of “Shammy haz healz” to his Horde alt.

As to properly answer this, I feel as though I’m forced to instead address my belief in the term “the Best.”

Simply put, the Best is a myth. I think that there have been reports of it being sighted in Sholozar Basin, every six hours, and only for ten minutes…

Seriously though, the Best is relative. In all honesty, I can’t even say I’ve ever met anything I would say is the Best in terms of “all of Warcraft.” There are just too many variables and with the way the Blizzard has been revamping classes over the last year or more the classes for each group role all have the capacity to be just as good at the group role as any other class.

So here’s Davlin’s short list of the Best’s.

Healer: Anyone that can keep me alive through almost everything.
Tank: Anyone who can hold aggro through most situations and earned the title of “Dav’s Meat Shield.”
DPS: Anyone who knows how to properly ride an aggro wave without pulling aggro and causing a wipe.
Hunter: Me.
Pet: Any pet that’s special abilities and armor/health fits well with your play style.
Profession for making money: Any profession….period.
Northrend Starting Zone: Howling Fjord, don’t take my darned Cobalt Nodes and Steam Clouds in Borean Tundra!

This is, of course, all from my point of view. Over here in Hunter land, where I’m putting out DPS and trying to keep my mana up and pet alive, what matters to me is making it through a mob. As long as I’m watching the Aggro Wave, I’m the happiest little Hunter when I see that my tank is holding aggro, my healer is healing through the pain, and my other dps isn’t trying to steal aggro. If your choices for your group can carry you through every mob, then they’re the Best.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is:
What’s the Best? The Best is that small group of players that knows their class and their role in a group. The Best are also always courteous “good” players.  There is no best class for anything. You want the Best? Run with PUG’s until you find the Best. You want the Best? Run with Guildmates until you find the Best. You want the Best? Take me with you, cause it doesn’t get any better than this baby!

Davlin is never happy with the look and thus its always under new direction. Tell me what you think. If y’all hate it, Davlin might change it. He also might just grab a pint and cuss you all out, take your chances.

Second on the agenda today is Dav’s absence from blogging for almost a week? (A week? Lemme check…nope…only 4 days…wow…seemed longer.) I’ve been kind of sick. “Kind of sick” equaling out to Dav can’t even sign onto WoW for much longer than maybe one Heroic a night! Oh the shame! But no worries my friends and fans, Davlin feels as though he’s on the mend, as this light hearted (yet could turn out ominously dark) post implies.

In other news, Yay Hunters loot! Got me some nice bracers last night that just ROCKED MY SOCKS! Seriously, my socks are still shaking. Yay Heroic Nexus. Sadly though, in a fit of Davlin doesn’t want to take it all (Need roll on bracers, greed and win on Frozen Orb) I passed on Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood, because I thought the DPS guys I was running with could use it. Turns out they already had it or something better, and our wonderful healer Zaralin ended up with a useless trinket to sell off of a greed roll. Let that be a lesson to you, Davlin, being greedy’s ok when everyone you’re running with has run these Heroics a few more times than you.

Oh yeah! Naxxramus is coming up for my guild. For all you guildies of mine that read this, start doing your homework. First of all, you all need to start gearing up. Some of you are fresh 80′s, right out of the box, still smelling like the guy at the factory with the greasy hands and the cigarette who inspected the plastic wrap before you got shipped. You need to go out and you need to hit heroics, HARD! You also need to go out there (ie WoWwiki.com) and you need to read up on Naxx now now now!!!As stated in previous rantings, I don’t use Vent, even though our Guild does have a channel (thanks Zaralin), and I’m sure some other folks out there might not either, so save us some typing time and learn the fights. Yes, I will take the time to do a short refresher course before every attack, but that’s no excuse, I love you all, go read.

And finally, I’ve decided that I want to beg and plead, but since I’m lazy, I’m going to rant about what I want WoW to do in an upcoming patch and hope that by ranting about it, it’ll leap from my mind to some Blizzard Employee’s and become reality. What am I begging and pleading for?

I want a Cavern’s of Time: Gnomeregan.

You heard me right. Take the largest, most fun instance ever, and revive it.

How?

Easiest way: Raise the level of the bosses and trash. Done. Davlin’s Happy. Jaffa Rejoices. Frejya does a little Spirit Dance. Bubba Pounds Chest in Elation.

Better way: We’ve already seen thousands of quests where you fight with or against a copy of yourself. In Old Kingdom there’s even a point against that final boss where you fight phased evil versions of your party. So here’s my plan. The same Gnomeregan map, all the baddies are the same, but the levels are bumped up so that they’re a challenge. In the little safe zone in Gnomer, instead, you find that the gnomes all holed up there were replaced by those evil blackish time dragons and they’re about to kill some hostages. Who? You and your teammates. That’s who. From the past. I’m currently unsure of if their levels should be different, but we’ll work that out in the beta testing. So the first half of the instance is a timed race to get to the hostages, and the fact that they are you is a surprise the time lord guys never told you. You get there and you have to fight a boss to free them. That’s your first boss. Then you’ve got 5 new members. Its a ten man raid! Woot! Now you and your counterparts have to make it through the rest of the instance, where every other boss is also some time dragon. The kicker? If your counterpart dies, you die. So yeah, you get extra heals with your healer’s double, and extra dps with your dps double, but if the double dies, you’re out of luck (Maybe for this reason the counterparts should be the same level as you in normal, but in heroic they are level 70′s). The final boss robot guy with the bombs can be different, sure, why not. And we’ll have it where he randomly takes a counterpart and offers them up for some sort of sacrifice thing like that chick in Utgarde Pinnacle. Oh yeah, that would rock.

Mostly I just want Gnomer to come back. I’d just be happy if they allowed us the option to make the current Gnomer heroic. No code rewrites, no huge patches. Just lemme go in there and have a challenge still. Jaffa hungers for lepers.

Ok, time to swallow my engineering pride (I’m too lazy to level the last 9 points) and send Nexultor the mats for the Nesingwary 4000. I’ve got me some Heroics to run.

Peace out!

–Davlin

1. Courtesy: I don’t care if you’re the best player on the server, can solo Naxx, and have the ability to sneeze murlocs, you ain’t running with me unless you know how to say please and thank you.
2. Chatter: A good player is willing to discuss, everything, from loot to how to run against a specific boss. That’s how we all learn and talking’s not just for your benefit, its for everyone’s.
3. Asking: Really as an extension of number 2, always ask questions, no matter how much they might make you sound like a noob. Yes, someone’s going to call you a noob, that someone isn’t a good player, or is just joking with you because they are funny like that (yeah…really funny…I’m laughing on the inside), but if you don’t ask, you don’t learn.
4. Know your Class: I preach it to everyone I run across. Know your class. Go to WoWwiki.com, read strat guides. I don’t care what you do, as long as its what you’re supposed to do. This one is the least important to me. I don’t care how good of a player you are if you don’t have the first three of these, but yeah, as a last decider, I look at this.
5. Read my blog: You don’t read Epic Dwarven Blogger? What…is…wrong…with…you….?!?!?!?1

That’s my top five “Good Player” Requirements. In all fairness, I only pay attention the first three, the fourth helps, and the fifth is expected of all good Azerothians.

Currently, in the PTR, mining a node is different! Instead of  *swing swing swing* get some ore and some other stuff, rinse, repeat, its actually working where you do the whole process once, get all the ore and extras, and you’re done.

So…example.

I’m flying very slowly around S. Basin (darn you epic flying and your inability to be as important as other things when I actually have the money) and I see a saronite node. I land.

I hit my mining button.

I swing 3 times.

I recieve loot, all the ore that node has, a ton of crystallized stuff.

I won’t have to swing at it again.

No more ganking! No more worrying about someone taking your node from you. Its magical. Mining just became so much easier. THANK YOU ELUNE!!!

You get the exact same amount of ore after mining the same node only once, that you would have gotten before the patch after mining it 3 times.

Thank you Patch 3.0.8, whenever you decide to come to us.

–Davlin

(and yeah, I realize I just thanked the same patch that’s bringing about the great Hunter Nerf…but heck, I’m a glass half full kind of dwarf.)

Please…when someone says something along the lines of “I don’t use Vent.” please don’t freak out, cuss at them and boot them from the poor hunter’s first Naxx raid.

That’s disrespectful and silly.

In other news. I was frustrated for reasons I have already mentioned, took out all my saved up epic flyer money and leveled my engineering to get my Truesight Ice Blinders. Yay to resolutions being crossed off. I outfitted them with suggested gems off of maxdps.com. I encourage everyone to visit that site.

Special Hat-Tip to Henrik from myself and Celess. Thanks for that pants.

Oh, and we’re listed now!!

@ TwistedNether.net

–Davlin

Here are Davlin’s Goals for the New Year.

1. Get Engineering to 450
2. Get Chopper Schematic
3. *drool* Nesingwary 4000
4. Epic Flying would be nice
5. Truesight Ice Blinders are something I need to build for myself
6. Level Jaffa and Bubba to 80.
7. Get a moth.
8. Upgrade Upgrade Upgrade
9. Break 100 blog views a day!
10. Convince Blizzard that the title “Hunter of Nesingwary” will make everyone love Achievements.(ie: Davlin Of Nesingwary)

I suggest everyone start throwing their resolutions around the area of reputation. I mean, come on…dude…Drakes…guns….rings of Kirin Tor (Just another Hearthstone). That’s my suggestion. Get exalted with everyone.

Get Exalted with Davlin…

I don’t know if there’s a rep reward for that…

We’ll see.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Davlin’s 80! DINGERIFFIC!!!

And he ran his first Heroic. Drak’Tharon or however the heck its spelled.

So here’s the story.

Zaralin: I want the Triage Achievement, so if when Nexultor uses his Jumper Cables on you Dav, I’ll try to bandage you.

<<Rez Dav>>

Zaralin: Shoot, you’ve got more than 5 Percent health.

Davlin: No worries! I’ve got Goblin Global Thermal Sapper Charge!

Davlin puts thumb on trigger while currently having just barely above 5% health. “BAM!” He says for effect.

Nexultor: No Dav!! Don’t do it!

Davling pushes the thumb plunger.

Davlin goes up in a ball of flame and flying body parts.

Nexultor: /Facepalm

Zaralin: <<Rez Davlin>>

Davlin: Didn’t work? Wow…didn’t see that coming. No worry guys, I’ve got another one.

Group: /Facepalm…

–Happy New Year! –Davlin

–Pugs, even the worst ones, aren’t bad. You learn playing styles and strategies, or (worst case scenario) you learn who ISN’T fun to play with.

–If you offer “free with mats” they’ll offer “free with mats.”

–No matter how much of a NOOB, or jerk, or whatnot someone is being, be the better person and be nice, never miss an opportunity to teach them a better way or lead by example. Be a Hero!

–10 days away from WoW leads to insane withdrawals that also lead to crappy blog posts about things to remember on the cusp of the new year.

–Set fun goals for yourself that fall outside of the realm of achievements. Want a special reputation or drop only cloak? Work for it. Want your profession up by a certain time? Do it! Want a Spirit Beast? Do it! And don’t let anyone take away the fun of working for your goals.

–Help out a guildy. Whatever guild you’re in, Heroes of the Alliance, or all the other…not quite as cool as HotA guilds, you’ve got members that, even though they might not ask for help, may want it. Offer. Usually it’ll end up being you just spreading a word or two of wisdom.

–Finally, REMEMBER TO JUST HAVE FUN. Who cares if you are hardcore or casual. I don’t. And you shouldn’t either. You play like you want to play. Its a video game. When I play Halo 2, or Age of Empires, or that Hulk Wii Game that I really suck at but love throwing people so I keep doing it, I laugh, I have fun, and down a brew and if I lose, I just keep playing, because its fun. It should be, and WoW is no different, except that there are 11 million other folks out there drinking brew with you too. *Clinky Clinky* Cheers.

A special thank you goes out to Furyen this week for helping a down and out fellow Hero out. When I was otherwise indisposed he helped me get some achievements I’d have otherwise missed. Thanks buddy.

–Davlin

PS: I’ll return to doing Macro’s of the Post when I get back to my home state and can properly put some much needed time into the blog. Woot!!!

PPS: Jaffa says hi and Happy Holidays. You should have seen him, Freyja, and Bubba wrestling over the reindeer antlers I wanted on of them to wear. Bubba one, only because of the opposable thumbs. It was really not fair.