I'm still enjoying Martuska instead of Kallixta. I managed to select talent points for the Paladin and practice the new rotation with a dummy, but Hallow's End gave me the excuse to concentrate on Achievements with the Mage.
Martuska has been playing Treat or Treat since the holiday started and last night the Headless Horseman kill dropped the Hallowed Helm, allowing completion of Hallowed By Thy Name. My excuse is gone and I need to return to Kallixta soon.
Meanwhile, I got to join the weekly raid last night, Razuvious in Naxxramas. We were overpowered, even me despite never having entered Naxx before, and it was as straight-forward as anything I'd seen. It was difficult for me to see who was doing the mind-control. My job was just burning down the boss. I was a little surprised to see how much damage came my way and my Ice Barrier was quickly burned away, but the heals kept me up. The run went so quick, I wish I asked if we could complete the quarter, but I stayed quiet.
We followed the raid with a quick 5-man heroic guild run. The RNG sent us to Utgarde Pinnacle for my third visit. I knew better, but didn't get out of Skadi's whirlwind quick enough. I hestitated in blinking away and didn't do my share in earning the achievements that came my way: Lodi Dodi We Loves the Skadi and My Girl Loves to Skadi All the Time.
The wealth of Justice Points meant a visit to Rueben and my second Tier 10 piece, legs this time. I remembered to enchant them and bought some gems (still concentrating on Hit Rating), but I forgot to enchant my new ring I got from the Headless Horseman earlier. I only noticed this morning and it has reminded me I need to send Syylia enchantments for all her new Iceborne gear.
BA Shared Topic Idea: The Way of the True Paladin
I have been thinking of what flavour items and achievements would make a character of your class truly a member of said class. For the Druid class I have come up with some (fairly obvious) things.
What about your class? Which items, titles, mounts, achievements exist in the World of Warcraft which a true master of the class would possess? How would you go about getting them today?
- Rakhman
Kallixta has not been a Paladin long, but she knows her dream and her idols.
Titles
One title fits with the Way of the True Paladin more than any other, Crusader. It shows that one is dedicated and has persevered to be a Champion for all members of the Alliance or Horde. While other classes can earn the title, Kallixta feels a Paladin should be expected to earn it.
It would also be appropriate for a Paladin to earn Kingslayer, ending the threat by the best known former Paladin.
Mount
Paladins have their own warhorse. Why should they choose anything else? Well, there are mounts that will take a Paladin to where they are needed quicker or by air. It should still be battleworthy, something suitable for charging into the fray. It could be argued that a war mount earned in the battlegrounds, such as a
Black War Steed, or maybe the Armored Brown Bear of Dalaran is acceptable, but that would apply to any of the other war horses and none charge any quicker. To be faster, the Paladin would need a flying mount. The quintessential Alliance flying mount for a paladin would be any of the gryphon or swift gryphon mounts. The Armored Snowy Gryphon isn't any faster than the other swift gryphons.
Those are the practical answers, but are there mounts that represent something beyond the practical? A mount earned at the Argent Tournament speaks highly of a Paladin's past efforts, especially the Argent Charger or Argent Hippogryph.
Achievements
There are few achievements that appeal to Kallixta as essential to a Paladin's nature. One aspect that may not be part of every Paladin's experience, but is to Kallixta, is service to others. A Paladin must be useful to others, sacrificing something to improve life for the many. It is in keeping with this vision of Paladins that Kallixta expects to earn the Looking for More and other achievements in this chain. Grouping as the Tank or Healer with the LFD tool has always been part of her experience. I suppose that means the title "The Patient" belongs in the above Title paragraph. Conversely, the achievement associated with "The Crusader" title belongs here.
Conclusion
Your mileage may vary. Batteries not included. No animals were harmed in the making of this post, except some in Azeroth and Outland while working on Pest Control, of course. Any resemblance to a true paladin, either living or undead, is purely coincidental.
What about your class? Which items, titles, mounts, achievements exist in the World of Warcraft which a true master of the class would possess? How would you go about getting them today?
- Rakhman
Kallixta has not been a Paladin long, but she knows her dream and her idols.
Titles
One title fits with the Way of the True Paladin more than any other, Crusader. It shows that one is dedicated and has persevered to be a Champion for all members of the Alliance or Horde. While other classes can earn the title, Kallixta feels a Paladin should be expected to earn it.
It would also be appropriate for a Paladin to earn Kingslayer, ending the threat by the best known former Paladin.
Mount
Paladins have their own warhorse. Why should they choose anything else? Well, there are mounts that will take a Paladin to where they are needed quicker or by air. It should still be battleworthy, something suitable for charging into the fray. It could be argued that a war mount earned in the battlegrounds, such as a
Black War Steed, or maybe the Armored Brown Bear of Dalaran is acceptable, but that would apply to any of the other war horses and none charge any quicker. To be faster, the Paladin would need a flying mount. The quintessential Alliance flying mount for a paladin would be any of the gryphon or swift gryphon mounts. The Armored Snowy Gryphon isn't any faster than the other swift gryphons.
Those are the practical answers, but are there mounts that represent something beyond the practical? A mount earned at the Argent Tournament speaks highly of a Paladin's past efforts, especially the Argent Charger or Argent Hippogryph.
Achievements
There are few achievements that appeal to Kallixta as essential to a Paladin's nature. One aspect that may not be part of every Paladin's experience, but is to Kallixta, is service to others. A Paladin must be useful to others, sacrificing something to improve life for the many. It is in keeping with this vision of Paladins that Kallixta expects to earn the Looking for More and other achievements in this chain. Grouping as the Tank or Healer with the LFD tool has always been part of her experience. I suppose that means the title "The Patient" belongs in the above Title paragraph. Conversely, the achievement associated with "The Crusader" title belongs here.
Conclusion
Your mileage may vary. Batteries not included. No animals were harmed in the making of this post, except some in Azeroth and Outland while working on Pest Control, of course. Any resemblance to a true paladin, either living or undead, is purely coincidental.
Adjusting to 4.0.1 - 12 Oct 2010
Only half of the Add-ons were available, but I was yearning to experiment and start the adjustments, at least with Martuska.
Mana Obscura supplied a reasonable guide for the first night. The talent tree as designed by Blizzard means the theorycrafters aren't ready to declare a single perfect talent. Instead I could relay on my own judgement! I'm frost and I concentrated on Single Target DPS. I'll need to redo, but it's not horrible.
I fixed my action bars and reviewed my macros and then I wanted to test it out. I grabbed the Tournament Dailies and tested the new build on some bad guys. Up until yesterday Recount was telling me I was getting between 1300 and 1500 DPS. Recount was now showing occasional bursts over 3000!? I was burning mobs too quick to see if they were hitting much harder. The new Poweraura looks are distracting, but I don't expect that to last.
I even burned Chillmaw very quick. I had an issue equiping the correct lance, but eventually I got the Commanders and turned in 4 quests and it was time to visit a city.
I trained Mastery and Wizardy, confirmed my equipment and enchants was still in order. I found I need to either load Auctionator or avoid the AH for a bit. Thus I'm not touching my Glyphs today. I found how cheap it is to reforged any spirit. I next tested myself on the Dummies and confirmed that while the numbers were spikey, I was often doing over 3000 DPS.
Thus it came that I decided to try a random non-heroic. Wow! Insta-queue as DPS? Uh oh, I got an unfamiliar loading screen! Pit of Saron? Well, everybody else was still adjusting right? I'm sure I wouldn't be the poorest. We had somebody d/c every other minute for a bit, but it was never the tank or healer. I stuck just behind the tank and felt I was doing my part. Two bosses went down quick. We'd been stable for a bit and then the healer d/c'd. The paladin tank decided to try tackling trash and he managed fine until the healer returned. We had some nasty lag, but everybody was feeling pretty good. I was very happy to be doing this well and comforted by my recount numbers that I was doing my job. My AoE DPS on trash was nothing exciting though. And a few minutes later, Pit of Saron was complete!
I had not won much and missed on my greed on the cloak. The healer commiserated on my loss and the tank and healer invited me to continue. The insta-queue next dropped us in the Forge of Souls. At least I had a better idea of what I was doing. When I found myself standing in Bronjahm's Soulstorm, I blinked into the center, happily. Another few minutes and the Devourer went down. I still missed winning anything, but I'd been on long enough and stopped there for the night.
After some shopping with my new justice points weighing in my pocket, I was convinced to buy a T10 piece, since it wasn't that much more than a T9 piece. I got the shoulders as being a cheaper piece that was a significant upgrade. I grabbed a gem, but further research hints I should swap. I need to push towards hitcap a bit more.
The guild moved their raid on the weekly to tonight and they seem willing to let me come. It's Razorscale and I'm not quite geared for Ulduar. I don't want to be carried, but I spent time today understanding the tactics, just in case.
Mana Obscura supplied a reasonable guide for the first night. The talent tree as designed by Blizzard means the theorycrafters aren't ready to declare a single perfect talent. Instead I could relay on my own judgement! I'm frost and I concentrated on Single Target DPS. I'll need to redo, but it's not horrible.
I fixed my action bars and reviewed my macros and then I wanted to test it out. I grabbed the Tournament Dailies and tested the new build on some bad guys. Up until yesterday Recount was telling me I was getting between 1300 and 1500 DPS. Recount was now showing occasional bursts over 3000!? I was burning mobs too quick to see if they were hitting much harder. The new Poweraura looks are distracting, but I don't expect that to last.
I even burned Chillmaw very quick. I had an issue equiping the correct lance, but eventually I got the Commanders and turned in 4 quests and it was time to visit a city.
I trained Mastery and Wizardy, confirmed my equipment and enchants was still in order. I found I need to either load Auctionator or avoid the AH for a bit. Thus I'm not touching my Glyphs today. I found how cheap it is to reforged any spirit. I next tested myself on the Dummies and confirmed that while the numbers were spikey, I was often doing over 3000 DPS.
Thus it came that I decided to try a random non-heroic. Wow! Insta-queue as DPS? Uh oh, I got an unfamiliar loading screen! Pit of Saron? Well, everybody else was still adjusting right? I'm sure I wouldn't be the poorest. We had somebody d/c every other minute for a bit, but it was never the tank or healer. I stuck just behind the tank and felt I was doing my part. Two bosses went down quick. We'd been stable for a bit and then the healer d/c'd. The paladin tank decided to try tackling trash and he managed fine until the healer returned. We had some nasty lag, but everybody was feeling pretty good. I was very happy to be doing this well and comforted by my recount numbers that I was doing my job. My AoE DPS on trash was nothing exciting though. And a few minutes later, Pit of Saron was complete!
I had not won much and missed on my greed on the cloak. The healer commiserated on my loss and the tank and healer invited me to continue. The insta-queue next dropped us in the Forge of Souls. At least I had a better idea of what I was doing. When I found myself standing in Bronjahm's Soulstorm, I blinked into the center, happily. Another few minutes and the Devourer went down. I still missed winning anything, but I'd been on long enough and stopped there for the night.
After some shopping with my new justice points weighing in my pocket, I was convinced to buy a T10 piece, since it wasn't that much more than a T9 piece. I got the shoulders as being a cheaper piece that was a significant upgrade. I grabbed a gem, but further research hints I should swap. I need to push towards hitcap a bit more.
The guild moved their raid on the weekly to tonight and they seem willing to let me come. It's Razorscale and I'm not quite geared for Ulduar. I don't want to be carried, but I spent time today understanding the tactics, just in case.
BA Shared Topic Idea: What's in a Name?
How did you decide upon the name for your character(s)?
When I need a name, I prefer to use a real world, if slightly ethnic, name. My daughter has a real world friend from Hungary. Martuska is the Hungarian version of Martha. When I was staring at the blank name box, I needed some inspiration, so I pushed "Random". I didn't expect to use the result, but I wanted an idea. I don't know what letters it gave me, but it looked like Calista, which was the name of a character in a story I'd recently read. That name was taken, but after poking about for variations, I arrived at Kallixta.
It just so happens that for my first Bank Mule, I used Rocinante, the name of Don Quijote's horse. To continue the theme, the Bank Alt, also female, became Quijota. A subsequent Bank Alt is named Aldonza. This theme looks premeditated, so I'll claim that.
When I need a name, I prefer to use a real world, if slightly ethnic, name. My daughter has a real world friend from Hungary. Martuska is the Hungarian version of Martha. When I was staring at the blank name box, I needed some inspiration, so I pushed "Random". I didn't expect to use the result, but I wanted an idea. I don't know what letters it gave me, but it looked like Calista, which was the name of a character in a story I'd recently read. That name was taken, but after poking about for variations, I arrived at Kallixta.
It just so happens that for my first Bank Mule, I used Rocinante, the name of Don Quijote's horse. To continue the theme, the Bank Alt, also female, became Quijota. A subsequent Bank Alt is named Aldonza. This theme looks premeditated, so I'll claim that.
Sidestep for Brewfest
Kallixta is about leveling, not achievements. She is about exploring different things. I already have one character that has been collecting mounts, pets and achievements, especially holidays. So when Brewfest 2010 started, I started playing Martuska for all those lovely Brewfest Achievements. When I discovered the advantages of daily visiting Corin, however, something else happened. Not only was I grinding Brewfest Tokens, but I was picking up 2 Emblems of Frost a day, and unlike Larísa, I was smiling.
The thing about this Emblem giveaway, it enticed me to relearn Martuska and enjoy her. I got her to level 80, but she stopped being fun. So while visiting her daily, I also spent some brain sweat figuring out how to upgrade her. I skill leveled her Tailoring and made myself Ebonweave Robes and Gloves and a Hat of Wintry Doom. I spent some Stone Keeper Shards before they disappear. Her Gear Number at Wowhead went from 1469 last month to 1802 now. I improved her Hit Rating to something respectable, at least for Heroic 5-mans. In fact, wow-heroes thinks she's ready of Naxx and OS.
Last night Martuska officially joined Saga and with 2 guild mates, we joined the random queue and ended up doing Heroic AN. I spent way too much time trying to target the desired mob and of course was low on DPS, but I don't think I did horribly.
Now with patch 4.0.1 due soon, I'll probably continue exercising Martuska until after I adjust to those changes.
The thing about this Emblem giveaway, it enticed me to relearn Martuska and enjoy her. I got her to level 80, but she stopped being fun. So while visiting her daily, I also spent some brain sweat figuring out how to upgrade her. I skill leveled her Tailoring and made myself Ebonweave Robes and Gloves and a Hat of Wintry Doom. I spent some Stone Keeper Shards before they disappear. Her Gear Number at Wowhead went from 1469 last month to 1802 now. I improved her Hit Rating to something respectable, at least for Heroic 5-mans. In fact, wow-heroes thinks she's ready of Naxx and OS.
Last night Martuska officially joined Saga and with 2 guild mates, we joined the random queue and ended up doing Heroic AN. I spent way too much time trying to target the desired mob and of course was low on DPS, but I don't think I did horribly.
Now with patch 4.0.1 due soon, I'll probably continue exercising Martuska until after I adjust to those changes.
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