The December 2011 Experience

It has been horrible.

Owait, this refers to my personal life. It also refers to the "technicalities" of said life. I am so happy that I have found the girl of my dreams, possible "the one". But that's just about it. Struggles in work, financial and all that jazz really makes it tough to keep up with the times, especially also with an expensive game such as WoW.

Game-wise, I am surprisingly pleased with LFR. It is a game-changer so to speak. While it makes missing your normal raids tolerable, if you are competitive and have that burning desire to achieve, it is nowhere near as close to the real thing, the real thing being the normal raid groups that you usually conduct prior to LFR.

I am also pleased with the theorycrafting that has been going on. Everything may seem "trivial" by referring to Elitist Jerks or whatnot, but with the current weapons and set bonuses, there are just those little tweaks that will spell normal high dps, to exceptional. And you do not need math for this, just simple commonsense. Why do I say this? It is simple. EJ always refers to the "perfect scenario". Always, always apply your own personal conditions, tendencies, margins of error and you will figure out another suitable scenario for your DK. I am currently wearing all Tier 13 gear, not by choice of course, but I have to live with it while we all hunt for our BiS.

Will be posting more soon, on addons, or what-have-you. :)

I do hope you enjoyed your Christmas! Cheers!

I'm Back

Greetings fellow readers, passers-by and what-have-you!

I am back after a long hiatus due to some heavy studying, work and the recent Bar examinations. It has been hell, but this is also quite an interesting experience for me. The priority would be to get back into the groove with this game I love, and to juggle my real life obligations as well.

It is not so good for me financially, but I am getting by. This of course has an impact with raid schedules and whatnot. Most of the people do not understand the preparation and focus that we, as gamers try to execute when it comes to games. To me, it is good practice, as everything we do in this game applies to real life. The real challenge has always been to strike a balance between fantasy and reality.

Whichever you do, whatever that may be, take it as a learning experience. And if you do absorb whatever experiences you do have with a video game or whatnot, they are somewhat applicable in real life. Naturally, if you expect them to be completely compatible, yes, you are then a nub. :)

So more things to come! Patch 4.3 is only a week old and a lot of guilds are 8/8. So based from the new features, it would seem that heroics is truly where its at. Happy hunting people!

The 10 and 25 man Debate: Depends ON YOU.

You can see the entire article by Paragon here.

It is quite obvious that in Cataclysm, the 10/25 man format have been relatively similar, in terms of gear and lockout. This forces the raider to choose to simply stick with one raiding format, which I think is beneficial to avoid redundancy and for raiders to fall into that time sink that would be running both raids.

Both raid formats have its pros and cons. Personally though, I would prefer a 10-man setup, being a hardcore-minded raider, but one that does not have enough time to actually set up 24 people, wait for some, organize those loot issues, etcetc. Bad.

However, it is also in my opinion, that in order to fully maximize the epic feel of raiding and teamwork, 25-man is the way to go. If you have a capable raid leader, and several others that can manage these little things for you, then you are in luck (also if they raid with your preferred times as well).

With 4.2 content, Paragon had discussed their opinions on more on the technical aspects of 10 and 25 man raiding:

"Further thoughts

It's immediately obvious that there's a much greater degree of clarity and control in the 10-mans. Thinking logically, this should help quite a lot with the learning curve and avoiding mistakes, but that's not really something we could say our little skirmish 'proved' in practice. We already knew what the encounters were about and what the flame to avoid looked like -- relearning to accommodate differences is very different than learning from scratch.

A theme of more significance that you can clearly see in the three harder bosses for this tier is that the dps requirement is much too lenient in 10-man. This means that you don't really have to cut the amount of healers, which ensures relaxed gameplay for the healers while about half of their 25-man brethren are taking beta blockers just to be able to see clearly. The other half is naturally on the bench, sitting out for the extra dps. Perhaps this is a backlash from what we've been hearing about T11, but it really doesn't work as it is.

Proper tuning has repercussions though, since class balance has a huge impact when you're forced into two-heal and solo heal situations. And that's not even a stretch -- don't be surprised if you see a druid solo healing Ragnaros 10 hc before this tier is over. Might or might not happen, but at least it seemed plausible enough. Try doing that with a shaman.

This leads us to the fact that the gap between an optimal setup and the wrong setup seems to be quite a bit larger in 10-man than in 25s. If the encounters are really hard, you'll need a proper setup. Guilds shooting for a world first should always be expected to come up with one, but those below, the ones without alt raids, will be left hanging. If the encounters are tuned for the 'average' setup, guilds who can afford the optimal one will steamroll through them.

If we were really playing 10-man, we *would* have a close to optimal setup. Even right now, scaled down from 25 to 10, we would have about 14 players and 30-ish fully raid-capable characters. The difficulty and tuning we're concerned about is for that scenario, not for the level where you're simply enjoying the game with the hand you've been dealt."

It is apparent that they found it "easy" when they did 10 mans. However, this is not the case for most, as the content is fairly challenging, and if you do not have the same latency as they have, you probably will suffer more as well with RNGs. If anything, I would like to participate in their raids to know how they communicate, how things are dealt with, and how the leadership is. No, no, this does not mean I'm great. I am just curious as I would love to improve the quality of raiding in my guild as well. Having that communication is essential.

I will agree with the difficulty being "easier" in 10 mans. Our 25 man raids were crap. Not because on individual skill, it was because of lack of communication. It was frustrating. Everyone should actually be talking, but what can we do. What Paragon said on that article rings true. I did say on our forums that going back to 10s can simply be summed up as going back to basics and improving communication.

On other news, I should read more as well, which I have been doing these past few weeks. I have been expanding my knowledge on social networks, and other stuff to dabble on to see if I can profit or generate any buzz on it. I want to make an impact now on the things I do albeit small. You will never know when you will be able to lift someone's spirit up, or an accidental visit to this blog will be what that person actually needs.

A Better Address to my Site IMO

Yes. It is now cheesefreeze.blogspot.com

I have always been wanting to have a funny site address, even a funny guild name, rather than go serious. It has so much OOMPH factor for me, when you have a semi-sarcastic name or whatnot and get it done. Serious guild names/sites are those for the really serious or old school people. It shows age and wisdom.

Nowadays, being current will take you places as well. It does not necessarily mean that you are a joke or that you suck. To me, the primary intention is to bring a smile to the reader's face, or make that reader sigh, or do a facepalm. You name it, you got it, as long as it elicits a reaction and burn through the reader's memory. We all want to be remembered, and having an impact from the get go is awesome.

Of course credibility should follow you as well. You must be able to give your readers some input, great humor or insight. Whichever the case may be. As author of this site, it is my goal to share with you the conflicts real life is posing on the gaming side of things, or vice-versa. There are so many sites about theorycrafting and all that, and the numbers can make one very frustrated. I am telling you right now, you need only to focus on certain aspects of your class, your toon and your focus on the game in order to win. This also goes for the nine or twenty four other people with your group.

I will be posting some more experiences here as well, as my outlet to the world. Things are still shaky in guild, and I wish I could do something to really make things settle down. I do not know if this will require a fresh start or not. In my opinion I did realize that you do not need a "fresh start". It is all mental.

I will be posting soon on my PvP experience just now. And man oh man, was I in for a treat. I am no PvP nut, and having a very experienced guildie in 2s really was an eye-opener and such a fun experience that it refreshed my PvP vibe. Raiding has been pretty frustrating, to my standards. I know we have so many skilled people, yet we have not found that right mix just yet. We will get there eventually.

Aside from that, there are also numerous things up for discussion. Like how to pay for certain accounts when my country does not support the debit cards around this place. Of course, this is in lieu of a credit card. I do not have a credit card because it is simply my decision not to have one, and this seems like more of an impediment than a liberating experience.

Any experiences you would like to share as well? Post a comment, let me know! We are in this together! I may not have the time to do "hardcore" raiding, but I truly believe that it is a thing of the past. I sincerely believe TWO DAYS worth of hard raiding is what one needs to win. Of course this does not apply to hardcore top-ranked guilds. They are getting sponsors and tons of freebies for it. Are we getting the same thing? NOPE. These discussions should be up soon, and I would love to read your thoughts on it as well.

The site's theme had also been changed. Just because my main is a Death Knight it does not mean it has to be dark.

The Hot Kill, Blizzard's Plan of Action

Congratulations to DREAM Paragon for downing Heroic Ragnaros, making them the first in the world. So far, they have been the only team that was able to manage this. I suppose grumpy old Rag is not cooling off anytime soon. This of course makes them the hottest team in WoW.

Alright, with all the heat nowadays, it is very difficult to keep cool. A lot had happened in the past few days. In my real life as well as in-game. It is indeed a frustrating feeling, attempting to mix and match both, and make them function harmoniously.

Okay, enough of that. Now into more yummy news. It was provided in MMO-Champion of the Blizzard Product Slate, and it does look promising. This had been leaked previously as well by the said site, and it does not seem as different from the first a couple of months back (I think before Cata was released), so it seems like it is credible. At least they say it is. Diablo III on the last quarter of this year? That is nuts! Some Christmas presents for kiddies... and kiddies at heart.

Based from the same Slate, it seems that WoW has a life until 2014. This is good... for them? It is never good for our pockets until they make it free. At least they still provide high quality content and keep us busy for the next month or two. Thus, it provides as a security blanket for your WoW assets and aspirations, and perhaps the resurgence of gamers that left, depending on what the next patch or expansion will provide us with.

I cannot wait for Diablo III. I have been an avid follower of the series, and this will surely take some time away from WoW. Not that I am really complaining. I have never looked for any other game as I do not have the time or the patience to relearn everything, with the exception of... well, Diablo.

In other news, there have been hotfixes and such for FL bosses and/or mechanics, which will surely make things balanced or easier. Happy hunting hot peeps.

It's hot.

The Mind fuuuuuu

Wow.

I did not realize how much I was into online... stuff. Anything nowadays piques my interest. From documents, to gaming, to website tinkering and insert-amazing-stuff-here. I wish this new post entry had some sort of mechanism for counting characters but I am simply rambling at the moment.

Currently, the guild has been undergoing massive changes, and it has made me think about so many things. One of my concerns would be that I am actually a new manager so to speak in an old guild, which I am trying to extend its lifespan, and also making it suit our identity. However, I do think if all the effort is worth it. I do think it is, but I will never know until a couple of more days.

The problem with being handed over an existing platform, of whatever, is that you are forced to deal with certain aspects that you are not familiar with or that you could have avoided if you did start over. I do think starting over is fine, however I do not want to start over for some reason. I do feel something special about this guild, and the torch had been passed to a couple of people and it was going strong. Perhaps I am this person that will impel others to do greater things.

I highly doubt I can sustain the commitment it needs in-game. However, outside of it, I just may be of use. Now if only I can figure out the costs of everything, and how to make it self-sustaining, will be an awesome gift anyone could give.

I shall be continuing the convoluted post at a later time.

For the mean time, enjoy the game, enjoy life, enjoy time.

Firelands and All that Jazz.

Firelands is epic.

Mass guild exodus.

Burnout.

Yes folks, so many things happening the past week, and I never felt this crappy playing the game.

That was last week though.

Bottom line is: You have to realize that there is no choice but to move on. That it is truly up to you, who has the power to shape the guild the way you want it to be (for now), to steer things toward the right direction. Whether it is very strict or not, I do not care, this is my stand on things, and I will simply have to defer at times to my loyal officers (and co-gm also). I listen to those who try to understand the matter, and those who try to make things work. I have no patience or love for those who simply stand up and go, without a word. I understand the situation, and I remember them fondly.

Professionalism is what I want to bring to the table. Follow procedure, and try to get along with everyone. There is no elite group around. It is one big community (even if I have weeded out so many toons already), and we must all get along. Most importantly, everyone should be contributing to the guild cause: To share their experiences, create friendships and opportunities, raid and pvp, and always strive for excellence and execution.

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On to other news, it is quite a tragic feeling that I am beginning to be one of the game's "vets" so to speak. Looking back, I do realize that I have come a long way, but this is just ridiculous. For a person who has so much stuff going in real life, I can make time for this game. I am amazed by that thought.

Anyway, I did mention this because I have seen so many older dogs than myself leave the game or take a break. Most of them hurt me because one stopped making boss mods (DXE), and most of them authoring such great UIs (LUI and Dajova UI). There was another one but I did forget the name. Wow, if they create UIs, they are really into the game, and they really know their way around it. However, these guys are leaving, or quitting or taking a break, right after Firelands came out. I suppose it is part of the game, but as for me, I am honestly not quite sure when I will feel that. I have never been the "hardcore" type, I am more of the dedicated player, but I cannot dedicate so much time on it as well, so I have no idea.

I am mumbling about that, so it is on to another topic.

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I consider myself a "techie", but in reality, I am just fail at it as well. I know "basic" stuff, but I am having this ever-growing desire to expand my knowledge on other practical applications. Nowadays, making short movies, youtube videos, anything under the sun, I consider as "essential" to one's growth. These little things must be learnt in order to survive. As my parents had told me as well, by knowing and having so much experience in almost anything, you are almost always going to land a job. Does not really say how lame your job is, but you will be useful. On anything.

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I also have to create a better system on everything. It is just a random brainfart.

This is what happens when you have posted for a long time, and when you get busy for bad stuff instead of the good. At least there is no other way but up. FO SHO.

Firelands 4.2

It has been mentioned in MMO-Champ that patch 4.2 will be released 28 June 2011. Keep your fingers crossed!

As for now, the trailer of patch 4.2. Cheesy, but they had to make something right?

Heroic Atra

Since we are doing this now, might as well post up a video for those curious or those also in the same boss as we are. Credit of course goes to Tankspot for this video. :)

So many changes ack!

Okay, please refer to MMO for those updates, there are just too many.

To summarize:

- Current Cata Raid Instances will be nerfed
- DKs will be nerfed (Not warriors); Hungering Cold now has a 1.5s Cast Time
- Dodge will not benefit from Agi
- And tons of QQ

Oh well. I am not really for QQing, but my class in my opinion was already in a good place. Now with so many nerfs, BECAUSE OF PVP, is what makes it frustrating. I just hope we do not go back to our crap DPS before 4.1.

So get your raid content cleared before the nerfs so you can say you have actually done them :)

Capping is not everything

Yes folks, while we have all heard about Hit Caps, Expertise Caps or what-have-you-caps, it is not an exact science. You have to look at the overall picture, similar to raid awareness.

Okay, here's how it goes, if you compute things here or there, you will eventually figure out that the "best" stat allocation that you will achieve with your current gear setup (that is not BiS of course) will usually mess up with your caps. An example would be your Hit being at 7.95% or Expertise at 25. Basically, it is weighing whether the DPS loss is worth the trouble, or which has the more DPS loss, Hit cap of 8.50% or 7.95%? These little tweaks drive me nuts.

I want them to be CAPPED. But that will not happen all the time. So do not worry about it.

If you also check the top raiders in the game, you will see their percentages or statistical allocations are very precise, but does not necessarily go with stereotypical caps.

Eventually, with some practice, you will indeed be able to recognize these without any mathematical application. It can result in commonsense. Too much of one thing is crap, but if you are able to almost maximize two statistics, but barely reaching the cap, which do you think would be more beneficial?

The application is precise, as it will depend on the class you are playing as well. Know your class, and you will be able to take risks or laugh at people that think you are fail because you are not so-called "capped".

Do not be fooled, the pros know better... which is not myself, but those real pros out there.

Have a good night everyone.

4.1 Hotfixes 11 May 2011, among other things

Yes, please check the left part of this blog for the updated feeds on Blizzard forums. Cheers!

In relation to WoW losing more and more subscribers, I am also in that burnout phase or in limbo.

I think it is really about being able to do so many things, and it can be repetitive most of the time. I do want an alt that I can play, that will earn me gold, that will shift some pressure off my gaming (as sometimes your main can be toxic) and chill.

So like my study schedule, I will be drafting a plan as well for my gaming, as I have very limited time to play the game. This will keep things interesting and will not burn myself out (I hope). I believe it will not for several reasons:

1. I have no idea of what other game to play, or do I have time (NBA 2k11 is already awesome enough for now)
2. I cannot think of any other game that persists and evolves as we do (even if it is crap at times)
3. Familiarity makes it less time-consuming and fun

Being familiar with the game, playing it for a little over two years (I think), all you have to do is try to set up your little empire and everything will fix itself. Since everything's organized, you have plans for your toons, you know what to do already the next time you log on. If you plan this, things will be seamless and more fun. At least once you have that free time, you know exactly what to do.

Another source of my burnout naturally, would be that I have very high standards for myself, it is a game first and foremost, and this much I should not forget.

Play on, playah. She'donk!

WoW loses 600k Subscribers, my 2c.

I have read in MMO-Champion this article. It had said that the decline was faster as compared to other expansions. They also said that it was not a surprise.

I agree.

I started off Wrath, and I had tons of fun. Right now in Cataclysm, I am not having that much of a blast. I certainly welcomed the challenge that came with it, but now it gets tedious.

I honestly think that the knock on having such an awesome expansion is that there are just so much stuff that you can possibly do, and you have no idea where to start. They have made the game so accessible and fluid, but they did provide TONS, yes, TONS OF OPTIONS or roads that will make you enjoy the game. I would rather they focus on fixing and improving their latency on this side of the globe, before actually adding more options.

Based from observation, I have seen several veterans retire, RL friends leave, and us that remain, do not feel as pumped to actually raid. I do not think my love for the game had actually wavered. I just think I get stressed by not knowing where to start, how to go about it, when I only have so little time to play the game. I have so much raid rust I need to practice, okay, what about dailies? What about TB, BGs, Arena? What about making yourself some money by having an alt that you will fall in love with (and I have not fallen in love with any other toon which hampers my earning capacity).

I am a loyal gamer to my toon, but I do need a money-maker, and I cannot get myself to play an alt for a long, long time. It is not because I do not want to. Heck, I am finding reasons to actually log off my main and try to do something else, but I just do not know what class will make me as comfortable as DKs. First time I saw and heard DKs, I was in. I played the game for this class (well, from persuasive friends as well). I started it, leveled it, got good in it, and I never looked back. But I still need that other toon. Investing on the raiding aspect and such will burn you out. You need a break in-game as well. Ironic.

That's it for now. Not surprising, I myself have thought about taking a break, and already have "semi" taken a break. I just want laid-back chillin' like a villain smashing stuff.

Chill with this instead:

Review for Tools: Mr. Robot!

Do you crunch numbers, refuse to or cringe at the very sight of them?

Would you rather "enjoy" the game, and still be good?

Well, you have Mr. Robot!

This is a good theorycrafting site for those WoW aficionados that want the best out of their gear. What I personally like about this site is that it computes stuff for you, based on your current gear, and what it can be improved on. Also, upon cross-referencing its BiS with other sites, it is different, which keeps your creative juices flowing.

I subscribe to the theory that "your current gear is your BiS". True. While we all have to attain a certain set of gear to really be good, you also will have to take note that it is up to on how to juggle those stats and which gear to attain that is the easiest for you.

The problem I see, well, theorized with BiS setups is that while you try to achieve such, when you are in the middle of such process, everything else is broken. This simply means that you may even be underachieving, had you not changed this better piece for your crap piece, due to the difference in stat allocation. Please do take note of this.

Hope this stirs up the theorycrafting in you as well. Please do not look to your sites with BiS lists as unquestionable orders of God. They are definitely not. And adjust accordingly depending on your raid progression. Trying to get a weapon drop from Nefarian as BiS when you have been failing at trash is not practicable. Try to get something else.

And if you have other sites please let me know! Let us all share the wealth of information all over.

Knight of HOT Steel

Yes folks, Patch 4.2 is just all about the hotness... literally.

Please do check your information hub sites regarding 4.2 changes. They have loot tables, mounts, other stuff. Lots of changes this 4.2 you know it.

As for DK T12 Bonuses, based from MMO-Champ's data-mining thingo, seems like a very good bonus set. It seems that they are trying to make the system more fluid and "spammable" with the HoW buff, or they are also trying to encourage diseaseless tanking by having the 2pc Blood bonus made as that.

However, for Blood tanking, my theory would be that they are adding more threat across the board to compensate for a Rune Strike change. Based on what I have read, RS loses the high threat it gives, but they are buffing its damage. So it will all even out in the long run. In short, diseases are still there, but they will not cramp you like an arse when they're down.

I am uncomfortable with the "fire" theme. I mean come on, I have been DW Frost almost my entire life and have been lovin' the ice. Now, you want me to go hot? Because I have to? Because it still gives decent set bonuses? Just does not make sense hitting mobs mad with Howling Blast and then you see fire damage on your attacks. What are you trying to kill it with, drastic temp changes?

So, with the changes, keep on playing and:

Death Knight Tier 12 Gear

Credit from MMO-Champion. A huge thank you to them for providing such quick info. Showing the T12 here for convenience purposes and to filter DK information.



Is it just me, or does it look really weird? Perhaps the thing I like here are the Helm, Shoulder flame color, other than that... nothing really. I am just going for the stats. I do hope they make a more epic Engineering helm. I would rather wear shades than that helm.

4.1 Observations

All I can say is wow!

They did buff the DPS of Frost DKs. I think it is a buff well-deserved, after a long stretch of frustrations and trying your best to keep that overall dps up but you still felt like you could do higher, but nothing's happening.

Perhaps it is fine on your end, but on mine, it was really bad. I had inconsistent latency as of late, and that affects Frost DPS immediately. Fortunately, this patch had remedied those.

The glaring change would be the stat weights, and how HASTE now is vital to one's success. Yes, I have tried the pre-4.1 spec to the post 4.1 spec, and there is indeed a DPS increase if you go Unholy Presence and Prioritize haste over mastery.

With the change of dynamic on the runes and how haste really helps your rune regen, it is a beautiful and fun system when you start your DPS. Take care though, you can pretty much grab aggro instantly.

For those not ready or does not want to change your pre 4.1 spec, no worries for you. At the moment, it is VERY competitive, and I tried that on my first random daily heroic before actually doing research, and it was surprisingly boss. So you can stick with that for now. But come on, the movement bonus you get from UP is just lovely. Based from loose observations, it would also be best if you are able to get your haste rating to break 1000. If you do that, I think you will be benefiting greatly from the new spec. If you are unable to do so, might as well stick to your guns before trying to reforge/respec. It might not do you any good.

I have only tried Zul Aman. Now it is boring in my opinion. It is boring simply because I tanked that instance. Okay, seriously, it is just too long. I do not want a raid-like instance (well I think that was what it was back in BC) just to get some valor. If they made it 300+ valor per run, that would have been worth your while. 140, while it is a lot, just does not justify such runs. I was tired, I wished I raided instead to be honest.

It may not be the most competitive or highest DPS output (I have not checked other DPS sims or whatnot), I surely felt like this earlier when I DPS'd:

Song to start a spark and some latency advice

I heard this song from the TV Series House. Perfect for that part.

If you have any latency issues, you might have "Downloading while playing World of Warcraft" ticked on your "Downloader Preferences". At the WoW launcher, Options>Downloader Preferences. I have been repairing and resetting UIs, WTF folders and all that jazz or perhaps I did not check that one when I installed Cataclysm. I have been having some latency issues when I knew I should not be having any. There was indeed some latency issues due to the recent Japan earthquake, but my internet's fine, and primed for gaming. Thank God I checked this time. See, new everything is a good thing. Change is inevitable, accept it and adapt, which is one of humanity's best traits.

New Patch, New Beginnings

If real life could be patched like the game, things would have been easier.

I decided to reset my User Interface (UI). I have been using LUI for quite some time, and it is great. However, not being the author of it, or having full knowledge of the nooks and crannies of that UI, I cannot help but think that I am not being able to use it to its fullest potential.

It is common knowledge that addons or custom UIs break when big patches do come in, so everyone will have to do a readycheck of their addons and see what is broken. So instead of checking it, I will flush it clean.

Naturally, it will sacrifice the aesthetics. Come to think of it, it will only sacrifice the panels I love. Not a huge tradeoff when you have access and knowledge of your UI inside and out. It does not affect my gaming significantly using other custom UIs as I play with only the bare essentials, but it does restrict myself in attempting to play around with the other addons available out there. An example would be that I will now use Skada instead of Recount. Not a huge difference if you know your UI, but it will mess up things a little bit in LUI. Regardless if there is help as how to go around it, why bother with too much when you can deal with so little?

With all the things going on in real life, I got lazy with my gaming, not only when I picked it up when I had spare time to play did everything improve. This time there is a patch coming as well, and everything will be different from my perspective.

So, what about your UIs, fix or flush?

Rise of the Zandalari Trailer

Looks more and more than the patch will be tonight! Happy hunting peeps!