30
Jun

Cataclysm Death Knight Specs

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Cataclysm

Cata Logo

Heya guys!!  The NDA is lifted and the secrets are slowly coming out!!

Apparently I cannot hover tooltip links from the MMO Champion site like I can with WoW Head yet (who is behind the curve currently).  I’m working on trying to find out how to make that happen.

Until then I did some poking around with the talent tree calculator at MMO Champion.  These are by no means “the end all” specs.  But at a glance, this is what I came up with.

At the very least it’s interesting to look at!  ;)

Specs

Diseases are 30 seconds, 45 seconds talented.

Unholy DPS: 0/23/53

The spec is super tight on points as it seems to be a massive gain to spend 3 points in the 5th tier of Frost.  The 5th tier of Frost offers:

  • 1 min cd ability for +20% Str for 20 seconds
  • 4% Str bonus
  • Raid Debuff: 4% increased damage from physical sources
  • This spec would then give you 13% magic damage, 4% physical damage, and 30% disease damage making it one of the better debuff specs

If the dps showed a gain from other talents in Unholy however that spec would quickly fall apart.  It’s just really early to tell.

Frost DPS: 0/59/17

This spec has all the points you could want.  It dips into Unholy for Unholy Frenzy which is the new “Hysteria”.  It’s 10% haste for 30 seconds every 3 minutes with the “Enraged” status without a Rune cost which is nice.

Once you pick that up, you pretty much have enough points to buy everything in Frost you could want.

Blood Tank: 59/5/5

This spec has too many points, with 9 points unspent still.  I imagine the intention is to spend the remaining points on threat talents.  Which is fine, but boring.  You don’t have to give up any “tank” talents at all.

Thoughts

It’s painfully obvious that these trees need to be iterated upon further.

The Blood tree has more points than it knows what to do with.  The Frost tree has just enough extra to get everything you could want.  And the Unholy tree is so tight on points that there is no room for anything but the most optimal DPS decisions.

The “goal” of the trees forcing you to spend points on “fun” talents has not been remotely reached yet.  On a Pale Horse was something I was really looking forward to getting because it’s cool, but is impossible with the current talent trees.

That said, I’d expect these trees to change quit a bit before release.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

Tags:

30
Jun

NDA Lifted!! Closed Beta Begun!! Beta Forums open!!

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Cataclysm, Coming Soon

WoW Cataclysm

Heya guys!!  Like the title says, the NDA has been lifted.

WoW Cataclysm Beta Forums

MMO Champion Cataclysm Post

CATA Death Knight Talent Calculator

WoW Head CATA Page

I’ve made a point of not delving into this stuff for the duration of the NDA, so I have to start sifting through this stuff before I begin posting about it.  That said, posts for CATA incoming!!

Blizzard Press Release: Closed Beta Begun

The company has started issuing invitations to participate in the testing process to a wide range of players from around the world who signed up via their Battle.net® accounts.

So far I’m not in…  :(

DO NOT GO CLICKING ON E-MAILS TELLING YOU THAT YOU’RE IN BETA!!!

Go directly to http://us.battle.net/ without clicking on anything and log in.  You will see in your account whether you got an invite.

Sidebar: I find it highly amusing that I posted the previous post below just before this happened, lol.  GG timing!!

Note: This post will be updated throughout the next few hours as I find new and interesting links you guys may find useful.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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Heya guys!!  So I’ve got a strict policy of no “NDA content” on this site.  But a lot of people misunderstand me when I say that because technically it’s not breaking the NDA to post CATA content.

Technically it’s a breach of the ToU and skirts some really weird copyright laws.  So, in an effort to clarify the matter (and educate you guys so you know what I’m talking about) I wrote this post.

It’s not directed at any of my readers who have posted comments in breach of Blizzard policy.  This post is for *everyone*.

Some of the information in this post is stuff you seriously need to be aware of.  The legal matters involved will likely impact the future of MMO’s, and possible other games as well.

Recent Legal Issues

If you’ve never heard of Glider or MDY, and Blizzard’s suit against them, then you might want to do a few google searches.  Or check out the following links in this post.

The important thing to note is what the recent court findings were.  You don’t own WoW, you have a software license to use it.

Yeah I know, that’s stupid.  But the US court has ruled as such, and for now it stands.  I’m not clear on all of the legal gobbledeegook, but there is significant room for this to be gone over again in the appellate courts.

And that leads into a whole mess of copyright laws, intellectual property, etc…

Weighing in personally, I think it’s a load of crap.  If I buy it, I should own it.  End of story.

That said, I think Blizzard’s stance on this subject is actually a reflection of the flaws in our legal system.  While I do not know the ins and outs of the situation fully, I get the impression that they took the legal stance of it being a software license due to a lack of options to protect themselves.

What do I mean?  I mean that through the angle of the software license they can actually fight companies trying to make a buck off of them and those who would exploit the game.  And without this angle, they would more likely lose cases in court.

I do not think it’s Blizzard’s intention to screw over their players or to tell them, “No, it’s *our* game, not yours.”  I think it’s just the most solid approach to protect themselves.

So before you get up in arms, think of it like this.  Do you want hackers and botters and gold sellers suddenly rising in population more than they are already present?  Or do you want Blizzard to have the legal clout to act against people like this?

Interesting Articles

Here are three links to related articles that are pretty interesting (I thought).  YMMV, but if this subject matter is of interest to you then you should check this out.

World of Lawcraft: Breach of EULA is infringement

  • Talks a lot about the breach of EULA in regards to ToU and copyright infringement.

You Bought It, But You Don’t Own It

  • Goes into detail regarding the software license and court findings.

The Strange Copyright World of Warcraft

  • A bit harder to read (little dry) but has come good copyright info and direct info regarding the Warden program.

What is the NDA?

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to by third parties. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets. As such, an NDA protects non-public business information.

That is not the Blizzard NDA, but a general definition from wiki something that is sufficient to give you an idea of what it is.  What is the NDA for Cataclysm?  Can’t tell you, that’s the rub.

Long story short, this is an agreement between Blizzard and the person playing in CATA Alpha/Beta preventing them from talking about CATA.  So if someone in the Alpha/Beta releases information about WoW then they break the law.

So to sum up, listing CATA information when you never agreed to the NDA is not a NDA breach.  So then why do I refer to CATA posted information as “NDA blah blah blah”?

Because it’s just easier to refer to it as “NDA content” than to get into a discussion about EULA, ToU, NDA, etc…

So for future reference “NDA content” references could mean more than what they appear to mean if *I* say it.

What is the EULA?

It stands for End User License Agreement.  So you know, *this* is why you don’t technically own WoW, and why Blizzard does, even though you paid for the game.

I’m not going to list the entire thing here, but you can view it on their wesbsite:  WoW EULA

I’ve often found their WoW website to be very slow at updating information.  Reading the EULA when you load up WoW would be preferable.

The ToU recently changed and is listed properly on the Battle Net site, but the ToU on the WoW site is not (it’s outdated).  Due to that I tried to find an updated EULA as well, but could only find the one on the WoW site.

You should really note the 3rd rule in the EULA.  It specifies that you *must* agree to the ToU or you cannot even create an account.

So because you agreed to the EULA when you started playing WoW, or downloaded a patch, you agreed to the ToU.

You know, that aggravating box you have to scroll to the bottom to hit “Accept” just so you can play…  *smirk*  Yeah, that thing.  The one you never read.  ;)

What is the ToU

It stands for Terms of Use.  By accepting the EULA and creating an account, you agree to the ToU.

The Terms of Use can be found on the World of Warcraft site, but it is outdated.  Battle Net has the new ToU listed.  And it has changed.

So if you actually read it before (yeah right…), you may need to read it again (like you’re really gonna read it…).

Blizzard’s Terms of Use

So this is where we finally get down to data mining CATA information from WoW and listing it on websites.  The most applicable rule is the following (read not the only rule):

Rule 12 C.  No Data Mining

You agree that you will not (a) obtain or attempt to obtain any information from the Service or any Game using any method not expressly permitted by Blizzard; (b) intercept, examine or otherwise observe any proprietary communications protocol used by a client or the Service, whether through the use of a network analyzer, packet sniffer or other device; (c) use any third-party software to collect information from or through a Game client or the Service, including without limitation information about your character, any Account registered to you, virtual items, other players, or other Game data.

And that is only the most pertinent rule.  There are a ton of other ones that obliquely cover the same topics while actually dealing with something else.

What does it mean?  It means that you cannot legally data mine information about CATA.  And there are other rules about sharing said information, etc…

There is a reason, called the law, that MMO-Champion was 100% willing to comply with Blizzard’s request to drop all CATA information from their site that was not approved.

Skeleton Jack’s Stance

If you did not read my three following posts you should check them out as they give insight into why I’ve actually delved into this topic.

Short version?  I got into Cataclysm Friends and Family Alpha.  But when someone at Blizzard recognized me I got pulled from the list the week the invites went out.  Yeah, I was peeved to put it mildly.

The result?  I started looking into the EULA, ToU, NDA, and internal Blizzard policies to understand what happened to me and why.

The repercussions?  A flat out refusal to allow NDA content (see what I did there?) to be published on my site.

I got screwed over for helping the WoW community when you break it down.  And I’m not about to justify Blizzard’s actions regarding me personally, which I found to be flat out mean.

The long view?  Personal feelings aside, I’ll honor their legal stances on subject matter for years to come, whether I’m still writing my blog or not.  I don’t *have* to know *that* badly.

Nor do I feel the need to generate a reader base on my site by publishing information that other sites will because they know that they’re too small for Blizzard to bother dealing with.  Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Cnofuzed?

Heh, :D   If you’ve got questions about this stuff post a comment!!  It’s convoluted and tricksy when you get down to it.

I may not have an answer on this one as I did not study law much, but if I can find out something to help you understand all of this then I will.

NDA Lifted

With all of that said, apparently the NDA has been lifted.  Once I confirm that you are free to post comments to your heart’s content regarding NDA content!! ;)

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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29
Jun

This week in Epic Fail!!

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Epic Fail, Fun

Heya guys!!  This week in epic fail we have plenty of goodies for you!!  That’s right.  I said “EPIC FAIL!!!

I love blondes…

So…you put the shell in the hole and it fires right?

Where did I park…

Epic Fail Bobcat in water

You’re taking pictures of the wrong cat…

Epic Fail Lion

Midgets are just awesome!

Epic Fail midgit on moped

I don’t even know what to say about this one…

Epic Fail Sumo attacks girlfriend

GG Health Inspector…

Epic Fail Health Code

I was wondering why this one kid was so happy and the other two were so upset…

Epic Fail Awkward Moments

And then I saw this pic of the store that they just went to…

Epic Fail Children KY

That’s right, look at both of those pictures and do the math!!

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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29
Jun

You need Death Knight Macros?

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Macros

Heya guys!!  Here is a new compilation of Death Knight macros for your macro fiending needs!!

Many macros can be altered to work for other abilities and/or needs.  Just make sure you test them if you change them.

Also due to weird HTML copy/paste issues, I’ve reset all macros into the <code> setting through HTML.  That should resolve any cut/paste issues.

Macros

Ghoulachoo, I choose you!!
#showtooltip
/cast [target=target,exists,harm] Leap
/cast [target=target,harm] Gnaw
/stopmacro [target=target,harm]
/cast [target=target,exists,noharm] Leap
/stopmacro [target=target,exists,noharm]
/cast [target=player] Leap
/petfollow

  • Targeting an enemy:  Leap to them and then stun them.
  • Targeting no one:  Leap to you and follow you.
  • Targeting another player:  Leap to them, like getting them to a healer or away from whomever is hitting them.

Mastery over death!!!
#showtooltip
/cast [target=pet,exists,nomodifier:shift,nodead] Death Pact; [modifier:shift] Raise Ally; Raise Dead

  • Death Pact if you have a pet up.
  • Click + Shift to Raise Ally.
  • Summon ghoul if you have no pet up.

I’m in.  I’m out.  I’m in.  I’m out.
/cast [modifier: alt] Frost Presence; [modifier: shift] Unholy Presence; [nomodifier] Blood Presence

  • Click to swap to Blood Presence
  • Click + Shift to swap to Unholy Presence
  • Click + Alt to swap to Frost Presence

Shifty Ghouls…
#showtooltip Gnaw
/cast [nomodifier] leap
/cast [nomodifier] gnaw
/cast [modifier:shift,target=focus] leap
/cast [modifier:shift,target=focus] gnaw

  • This will make your ghoul leap to a target and stun it.
  • By holding down the SHIFT key it will instead leap and stun your Focus target without making you change your current target.

DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!
/startattack
/petattack

  • This (when added to any existing macro) will turn your auto-attack on and make your pet attack.  Either line can be removed or added to any macro.
  • If you do not have a target, this will make you select a nearby target for auto attack per the Blizzard default targeting system.  Typically this is the nearest mob.

My sword is bigger than yours… o.O
#showtooltip
/Cast Empower Rune Weapon
/Cast Death Coil
/Cast Rune Strike

  • You can replace DC also with Frost Strike.
  • ERW and RS do not take up a GCD, but you usually lose 1 second due to real life clicking.  Why not work a DC or FS into that lost time?

Whatcha want me to kill?
/assist (name)
/startattack
/petattack

  • Replace (name) with a player’s name whom you wish to assist in combat.
  • You will target the player’s target, start auto-attacking their target, and send your pet to attack their target.
  • If the player is not there, this will still attack your current target.

Get over here!!
#showtooltip Death Grip
/cast Death Grip
/cast Chains of Ice

  • This is your anti-runner macro.  Double tap to cast both spells.
  • If DG is on CD, this will still cast CoI.

Willy, Willy, get this bitch off me!!
#showtooltip Hungering Cold
/cast Lichborne
/cast Anti-Magic Shell
/cast Hungering Cold
/cast Unbreakable Armor
/cast Icebound Fortitude
/cast [target=player] Death Coil
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

  • This is your “holy crap I’m gonna die” macro for Frost PvP.  It spams all of your defensive CD’s while using your CC as well.
  • If you have Runic Power available, and Lichborne was available, it will heal you with Death Coils.

Two DC’s for you, one DC for Bubba…
#showtooltip Death Coil
/cast [nomodifier] Death Coil; [modifier:alt,target=pet] Death Coil

  • Click this and it fires DC off at your target.
  • Press ALT and when clicking it and it hits your Ghoul with DC for a heal without losing your current target.
  • Bubba is your ghoul fyi.  :P

Death Coils for EVERYONE!!!
#showtooltip Death Coil
/cast [nomodifier] Death Coil
/cast [modifier:shift, target=mouseover] Death Coil

  • Casts DC on target.
  • Click + Shift casts DC on your mouse over target.

Shifty Corpses need explodin’!!
#showtooltip
/cast [modifier:shift,target=pet] Corpse Explosion
/targetlasttarget
/cast [nomodifier] Corpse Explosion

  • If your last target was killed it will target the corpse and cast Corpse Explosion
  • Holding down Shift when clicking this macro will instead cast CE on your ghoul.

BOOM MOTHA!@#$A!!!
#showtooltip Corpse Explosion
/cast [target=pet] Corpse Explosion

  • Simple and easy, explodes your pet without changing your target.

Is it cold in here?
#showtooltip Howling Blast
/cast Deathchill
/cast Howling Blast

  • PvP Frost burst macro for HB.

Did you seriously just strangle a mouse?
/cast [target=mouseover] Strangulate

  • Cast Strangulate on whatever target you are hovering your mouse over.

Lazy mode on:  Rune Strike SPAM please!?!?!!
#showtooltip Icy Touch
/cast Rune Strike
/cast Icy Touch

  • You can swap out any attack with “Icy Touch” to tie Rune Strike to that attack.
  • This will fire off RS if it is available and you have enough RP when you click the macro.

Quit casting Horn of Winter you !@#$!!!!
/cancelaura Horn of Winter
/cast Horn of Winter

  • Cancels HoW buff on yourself and then casts HoW.
  • Useful when grouped with someone with a higher level HoW or a longer duration HoW.

Cool as Ice!!
#showtooltip chains of ice
/cast [target=focus, exists] chains of ice; chains of ice

  • This will cast CoI on your Focus target, or your regular target if you do not have a Focus target.

Oh no you don’t!!
#showtooltip death grip
/cast [target=focus, exists] death grip; death grip

  • This will cast DG on your Focus target, or your regular target if you do not have a Focus target.

STFU!!
#showtooltip strangulate
/cast [target=focus, exists] strangulate; strangulate

  • This will cast Strangulate on your Focus target, or your regular target if you do not have a Focus target.

HEALZ MY PET ZOMG!!!!
/cast [target=pet] Death Coil

  • Keep your current target, but still throw a DC heal at your ghoul.

GET OVER HERE AND PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!  /needy
#showtooltip Dark Command
/cast [nomodifier] Dark Command; [modifier:alt] Death Grip

  • Taunt the target to you.
  • Death Grip the target to you by holding down ALT.

Lazy mode IT/PS + Blood Runes
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/dead Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Blood Strike

  • Places diseases up and then fires off two Blood Strikes to get your Death Runes coming.

Rogues?!?!  Who needs Rogues, lolololol!!
#showtooltip Death Grip
/cast Death Grip
/cast Gnaw

  • DG’s your target.
  • Ghoul casts stun on your target.
  • Make sure you do not have Leap set to auto cast or the ghoul could leap to where the target was before the DG.

Silly kids, brains are for ghouls!!
#showtooltip Ghoul Frenzy
/cast Blood Tap
/stopcasting
/cast Ghoul Frenzy
/run if (UnitBuff("pet","Ghoul Fenzy") and UnitBuff("player","Blood Tap")) then CancelUnitBuff("player","Blood Tap") end

  • Casts Ghoul Fenzy by using Blood Tap.
  • You should use this macro after all runes are on CD and you’ve just used your Death Runes for something.

POWER UP ACTIVE!!
#showtooltip Unbreakable Armor
/cast Blood Tap
/stopcasting
/cast Unbreakable Armor
/run if (UnitBuff("player","Unbreakable Armor") and UnitBuff("player","Blood Tap")) then CancelUnitBuff("player","Blood Tap") end

  • Casts Unbreakable Armor by using Blood Tap.
  • Can substitute “Unbreakable Armor” with any ability (such as Bone Shield) to use BT to cast that ability as well.
  • You should use this macro after all runes are on CD and you just used your Death Runes for something.

Super Healzorz ZOMG!!!
#showtooltip
/cast Vampiric Blood
/cast Rune Tap

  • Pop off VB for extra healing, followed by a suped-up RT heal!!

When RT just won’t cut it because that brown stuff hit the proverbial fan…
#showtooltip Lichborne
/cast Anti-Magic Shell
/cast Icebound Fortitude
/cast Vampiric Blood
/cast Rune Tap
/cast Lichborne
/cast [target=player] Death Coil

  • Requires Blood spec, sub-Frost.  This is a reliable way to keep yourself alive no matter what is focused on you.
  • Pops all defensive CD’s and uses DC’s to heal yourself.

Frost Lazy Mode, zomg!!
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/dead Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Obliterate, Blood Strike, Pestilence, Frost Strike, Frost Strike

  • Opening sequence for a Frost spec.

I’ve got your target right here…
/raid Kill in descending order:
/raid {skull}=Kill first whenever it appears.
/raid {star}
/raid {circle}
/raid {diamond}
/raid {triangle}
/raid {moon}=Sheep
/raid {square}=Sap

  • Lists the kill order and CC required for each target.  Symbols can be moved, and assignments can be altered.
  • Names of players can be added in to assign tanks or CC’ers to their symbol for easy repetition if people ask or forget.
  • /raid can be changed to other formats such as /party.

I marked you.
#showtooltip Mark of Blood
/cast [target=mouseover, exists] Mark of Blood; Mark of Blood

  • Cast Mark of Blood on your mouse over target
  • If no mouse over target, casts on current target.

Blood Lazy Mode, zomg!!
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/dead Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Heart Strike, Heart Strike, Death Strike, Death Coil

  • Opening sequence for a Blood spec.

One button heaven.
#showtooltip
/cast Scourge Strike
/startattack
/petattack
/cast Rune Strike

  • You can replace SS with DS or OB depending on your spec.
  • This will always start your auto-attack (even if runes are not up).
  • This will send your pet after your target.
  • This will cast Rune Strike for you if it procs.

You got agro…again…
#showtooltip Dark Command
/w [target=target's target] WATCH YOUR ****ING AGGRO!!!
/cast Dark Command

  • Taunts your target and whispers the target’s target the assigned message.

HYSTERIA I TELL YOU!!!  It’s hysteria!!!
#showtooltip
/cast [target=focus, help, nodead] Hysteria

  • Makes your target your focus
  • Casts Hysteria on your focus.

Unholy Lazy Mode, zomgx2!!!
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/dead Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Death Coil, Horn of Winter

  • Opening sequence for an Unholy spec.

I can’t see…  /cry
/script SetCVar("cameraDistanceMax",30)

  • So far away now everyone looks like an ant…  Cool!!
  • This changes the distance of your camera view.  Tweaking the number offers results not covered by SJ.

I’ve seriously gotta heal myself?  I’m a Death Knight.  Do you see “healer bitch” in there somewhere?
#showtooltip Lichborne
/cast !Lichborne;
/cast [target=player] Death Coil
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

  • Requires Frost sub-spec.
  • This allows you to heal yourself with DC’s when Lichborne is available.

Death Grip Sparks!!  Please?
#showtooltip Death Grip
/targetexact Power Spark
/cast Death Grip

  • This will Death Grip any target that you are on currently unless there is a Power Spark nearby (Malygos).
  • This will never “accidentally” DG Maly possibly causing a wipe.  It will only DG the Power Spark.  The target name can be replaced with any name.
WTF IS THAT SPARK?!?!  aka. Marking a target.
/target Power Spark
/run SetRaidTarget(?target?, 8);
/targetlasttarget
  • This will mark any Power Spark in range (so long as you are promoted) with a Skull.  The number can be altered from 1-8.  1 is the Star, 8 is the Skull, and you can figure the rest out from there.
  • By swapping the target name you can mark any target with a symbol, such as the NPC’s in the ice cubes at Hodir.
  • By removing the “/target Power Spark” line, it will simply mark your current target with a Skull.  This macro will then retarget your last target.

Best mount macro EVAR!!!!!!!!
/run if IsMounted()then return end local t if((GetRealZoneText()=="Dalaran") and (GetSubZoneText() ~="Krasus' Landing") or (GetZoneText()=="Wintergrasp") or not IsFlyableArea()) then t={1} else t={2} end CallCompanion("MOUNT",t[random(#t)])
/dismount

  • This will allow you to use one button to mount up where ever you are based upon the “flight restrictions” in that area/zone.
  • No more multiple buttons, this does both ground and air mounts in one.
  • Please note the 1 and the 2 in the macro need to be adjusted depending on how many mounts you have.  Check your mount window in game.  1 would be the first mount, 2 would be the second mount, and so on.
  • If you’re favorite ground mount was the 7th mount, and your favorite aerial mount was the 34th mount, you’d need to change 1 and 2 to 7 and 34.

Ghouls are people too!!
/bg GHOULS ARE PEOPLE TOO!!  They like buffs!!  <3 you much!!  My pet counts as a Rogue for buffs and is named %t!!  TY

  • Target your ghoul at the beginning of your BG and press this.  This has gotten people to buff my pet before when they hadn’t.

Random Mounts.
/castrandom [flyable] FlyingMount1, Flyingmount2, FlyingMount3
/castrandom GroundMount1, GroundMount2, GroundMount3
/dismount

  • Makes you mount up randomly.  Changing the numbers (or adding more) may be necessary for players with tons of mounts.

Mice always find the cheese.
/focus [target=mouseover]

  • Whatever target you have “moused over” becomes your Focus target.

Mice find the cheese, but so do humans!!
/focus [target=mouseover,exists][exists]
/stopmacro [target=mouseover,exists][exists]
/clearfocus

  • Makes whomever you’ve currently “moused over” your Focus target.
  • If you have no mouse over target, then your current target becomes the Focus.
  • If no target exists and you are not mousing over anything, then it will clear your Focus.

Totem Stomper!!
/petattack [target=Healing]
/petattack [target=Mana]
/petattack [target=Earthbind]
/petattack [target=Tremor]
/petattack [target=Grounding]
/petattack [target=Cleansing]

  • This is supposed to go kill totems (with your ghoul) in a priority of bottom to top.  I’ve had issues with it though.  If you know an improved one tell me.

Totem Stomper 2.0
/petattack
/petattack [target=mouseover]

  • Makes you pet attack your current target.
  • Makes your pet attack your current mouse over target.
  • It should be noted this can be used to also have your pet attack targets besides just totems.

Quit molesting Gravelraper!!
#showtooltip Huddle
/cast Huddle

  • Makes your pet cast Huddle for reduced inc damage.

Editing Macros

A lot of the macros above were not just taken from somewhere else (though some were).

I used my brain matter before Brainchomper got near me!  Taking examples from other macros to make new ones is easy to do.

If you pay attention to the commands you will start to notice which commands can be altered on macros to make them work in different ways, with different abilities.

Feel free to explore and test new ideas!!  I encourage it!  :)

More Macros!!

Do you have a good macro not listed here?  Post a comment and we’ll see about including it!

Also if any macros give you issues, or don’t work, post a comment.  I’ll figure out if it’s broken and get a fixed one up if necessary.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

Tags:

Heya guys!!  Do you like your UI?  Do you hate your UI?  Did you download your UI?  Ever had your UI die on you?

Not sure about you guys, but that kind of stuff catches my attention.  So, since my UI died the week before 3.3.5 release why not talk about it?

Pictures of my UI

Please be aware that my computer monitor is a Sceptre x270-1080P.  I run WoW at a resolution of 1980×1080.

These pics only look right if you click on them, and then zoom in.  And when you do that, they will likely not fit on your monitor unless you have a wide screen 27 inch monitor as well.

If you are looking to upgrade your monitor btw, I *HIGHLY* recommend Sceptre.  I’ve bought their models for my last two monitors and I’ve got zero complaints!  They rock!!

My Dead UI

Yeah, a picture is worth a thousand words.  “!@#$ me” however sums that pic up pretty well I think…

The mods that broke…

I use Rune Watch for my disease timers, runic power meter, and rune cooldowns.  It’s invaluable if you ask me.  I *highly* recommend it.  I’ve not seen an alternative that is as nice as RW.

I use Tell Me When for my buffs so that I know when my buffs are active for popping cd’s, etc…  Also invaluable imo, but there are several alternatives to TMW which work well too.

I use CT Mod for my basic UI fuctions, including my bars.  It’s old, tried, and true.  Been using it since vanilla WoW, and it still works damn well.

There are supposedly much better options out there (than CT), but CT provides several mods that I use in one easy package, so I’ve not seen a good enough reason to leave it behind yet.

What happened?

Right in the middle of H LK my TMW just died and forgot all of the settings I had.  BOOM!!  Dead…  Couldn’t track my Rime or Killing Machine procs, buffs, etc…  It sucked.

In the effort of reloading my UI Rune Watch suddenly died as well and forgot all of my settings.

On top of this, reloading my UI started locking WoW up, as well as logging out/exiting the game.  Both are times when mods are being loaded, saved, etc…

A few minutes later (on a fresh log in) my 5 bars collapse into one big mish mash of bars and I can’t see shit!  Did I mention I was at H LK with my guild during all of this?  /sigh

Long story short I did a WoW Repair, deleted my WTF and Addon folders, and redid my UI from the ground up.  It was a pain.  That pic above is after everything was fixed and re-downloaded, but before I set it all up again.

Why’d they break?

Most likely because it’s been forever since I repaired WoW, cleaned out those folders, etc…  And downloaded mod after mod on top of each other.  It was only a matter of time before my addons broke really.

My New UI…Again!

It’s fairly basic and I like it that way.  I like a lot of visible area without a ton of clutter.

I spent some time looking through pre-made UI’s and they all suck IMO.  Why won’t anyone make a basic pre-made UI that uses core solid mods without messing everything up?

They wanna move your mini-map into the bottom center of the screen almost all the time too…  Who in the hell actually uses the mini-map when you’re fighting?!  NO ONE!!  Fricking idiots…

They also like to cut out a lot of your screen to fit in mods, etc…  No thanks.  I’d prefer to just download a pre-made mod and alter it slightly, but they all seem to suck.

Caveat:  Some of the pre-made healer UI’s looked awesome.  *Really* awesome!!  Why don’t melee have more pre-made UI’s?  :(

New Mods!

So while looking around at pre-made UI’s I checked out a few new mods as well.  Well, new for me anyways…

I found an interesting one called Nonce.  It’s pretty basic.  It allows you to add a texture or screen color (and alter the appearance of it) depending on the presence you are in.

That link at Curse has a few pics as well that are much more obvious than my setup. But here’s two examples of how I set mine up.

Frost UI

Unholy UI

Now in both of these pics I have the graphic set to being more of a “background” thing.  You can make these much, much more visible if you choose to.

Or even drop the texture and just have your entire screen shade over with the color (to varying degrees).

So why is this mod good?

*I* forget to change presences all the fricking time!!

I’ll swap into Unholy Presence to run back from a wipe on H LK, or just have it on while in Dalaran, and then forget to put Blood back up when I get into a fight…

/facepalm

I know…  Bad SJ.  So I set up Blood to show nothing, and Unholy and Frost to show as above so I won’t forget anymore!! :D

Mods used by Skeleton Jack

I figure people will wonder about this one…  And I’ve been asked this question a ton.  So here you go.

I am no “UI Guru” or master of addons.  I am 100% sure my UI could be improved in such a way that would blow my socks off.  However I don’t really know how to do that, so this is what I’ve got.  ;)

Deadly Boss Mods

  • There are other options such as Big Wigs and DXE, but I’ve been using DBM since vanilla WoW and it works.

CT Mod Advanced

  • From this package I use:  CT Party Buffs, CT Buff Mod, CT Map Mod, CT Mail Mod, CT Core, CT Bar Mod, and CT Bottom Bar.
  • The other mods in the package are useful, but I don’t have a need for them.

Auctioneer Suite

  • I do not use Enchantrix, which comes with this.
  • I use the Suite because it’s what comes with all of the bells and whistles…  I likes bells and whistles!!

Rating Buster

  • Automatically converts ratings into values.
  • Also converts stats for you as well.  Like alt casters who get x % of y stat added to z ability/effect.

Recount

  • Solid mod for tracking dps, deaths, healing, etc…

Tell Me When

  • I can’t live without this mod.
  • It is one of only two mods I consider to be necessary for playing WoW (PvE and PvP content).

Tank Points

  • I don’t use this much as I don’t tank much, but it’s a great way for the newb tank to see which items are upgrades for tanking.

Bank Stack

  • This will auto sort your bags and do some other stuff too…  I’m not so sure on the other stuff.  But the auto sorting function has saved me a *ton* of time in the past.

Omen

  • You should already have this mod for the love of all that is unholy!!

oRA2

  • A great raid tool mod imo, and should be mandatory for guilds if you ask me.
  • I recently learned there is an oRA3.  I’ve not tried it yet, so can’t vouch for it.  But it’s likely better.

Logger Head

  • If you ever keep combat logs for WoL then I recommend this one.  Just makes life easier.

One Bank 3 and One Bag 3

  • I like one bag for my bank and backpack.  Opening a bazillion bags and managing them is bogus.

Error Monster

  • Helps eat error messages.  /win if you ask me!

Nonce

  • Special graphics for being in a DK presence.  YMMV here…

Bad Boy:  Anti Spam Automatic Reporter

  • This one is a new mod for me.  So far its caused me no problems and spam is less of an issue.  So this mod is going into the “HELL YES!!!” column!  ;)

Rune Watch

  • This is the second mod which I consider to be actually necessary to playing WoW (in both PvE and PvP content).
  • Disease Timer
  • Horn of Winter Timer
  • Rune Tracking
  • Two Runic Power Guages
  • If you don’t have this you seriously need to try it.

Atlas Loot Enhanced

  • Wanna know what the boss drops?  Wanna know what badges can buy what gear?  Look no further.

Displaced Mods

WIM

  • I used to *love* this mod, but started turning it off in raids to improve frame rate issues.
  • I’ve not used it in a long time, but I used to love it.

Grid

  • This is the basis mod for most casters.  If you have a healer, or caster alt, you may find it useful.

Clique

  • The healers set me up on this for my shaman Bigeasy when I had to heal Twins in Sunwell.  Worked well.

Move Anything

  • It does literally what it says.

Trade Skill Mods

I don’t honestly understand the interaction (read dependencies) of all of these mods.  But I had a glyph business a while back that pretty much required all of them

If you’re into TS’s then you may find some of these handy…  You can do some amazing stuff with them.  I did.

Lil Sparky’s Workshop

Addon Control Panel

Altoholic

Who Has

Kev Tool Queue

Skillet

You have a great UI?

Disclaimer: Links to any sites that are not well known or trusted may be deleted.  Photobucket, Curse, WI, Ace, etc… are trusted sites.  Personal websites?  Those might get deleted.  I have to protect my readers from links to potential viruses.

You know some great mods?  Leave a comment with a link to it.

Know a great pre-made UI somewhere?  Link it!!

Have a pic of a UI that’s really cool?!  You guessed it.  LINK IT!!

Not only am I curious, but I’m sure other readers are too.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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26
Jun

Frost and Unholy Specs and APE weights and scales for 3.3.5

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in DPS, Questions, Specs

Heya guys!!  Yes.  You know you love “The Hass”!!  o.O

Now that I’ve made you suffer through that, *sadistic grin* lets get down to something you guys probably will love to have.  APE (Attack Power Equivalency) weights and Pawn scales for Frost and Unholy DPS!!

Please note that these scales do not include the 2 piece or 4 set bonuses.

Also these scales assume that you are looking for “ideal gear” in the 260-270+ ilvl range.  This is basically a “Best in Slot” APE weighting.

Frost

Loot Rank Frost without Melee Hit Cap

Loot Rank Frost with Melee Hit Cap

Enchants, Trinkets, and Weapons

It is important to note that this site (and APE scales in general) will not always properly reflect the best choices for enchants, trinkets, and weapons.  Please do not rely upon these scales for those three categories.  While some results are accurate, others can be wildly off.

Pawn Mod Frost Scale

( Pawn: v1: "Frost": ArmorPenetration=3.08, CritRating=2.12, Dps=7.12, Strength=2.83, HitRating=2.23, Agility=1.67, HasteRating=2.15, ExpertiseRating=2.08, Speed=394.23, Ap=1, GemQualityLevel=81 )

Please note that due to weird HTML hatred, some symbols do not copy properly.  I placed this into a <code> format and that should fix the issue.

You can download Pawn at Curse.  Pawn will auto load some weight scales at the start.  Just turn them off.  I did.

Frost T10 Set Bonuses

T10 2 piece:  400 APE

T10 4 piece:  380 APE

Frost Spec

Cookie Cutter Frost:  1/52/18

  • The currently held “best” spec by popular opinion.

SJ’s Frost:  0/53/18

  • More dps than the cookie cutter version, but also generates more TPS.

SJ’s Frost Slow Spec (H LK):  0/55/16

  • Loses 500-2000 dps in P1 of H LK, but once the first transition begins it only loses about 300 dps tops.

Unholy

Loot Rank Unholy without Melee Hit Cap

Loot Rank Unholy with Melee Hit Cap

Enchants, Trinkets, and Weapons

It is important to note that this site (and APE scales in general) will not always properly reflect the best choices for enchants, trinkets, and weapons.  Please do not rely upon these scales for those three categories.  While some results are accurate, others can be wildly off.

Pawn Mod Unholy Scale

( Pawn: v1: "Unholy": ArmorPenetration=2.58, CritRating=2, Dps=7.04, Strength=3.1, Agility=1.35, ExpertiseRating=1.52, Speed=32.39, HasteRating=2.87, HitRating=0.58, Ap=1, GemQualityLevel=81 )

Please note that due to weird HTML hatred, some symbols do not copy properly.  I placed this into a <code> format and that should fix the issue.

You can download Pawn at Curse.  Pawn will auto load some weight scales at the start.  Just turn them off.  I did.

Unholy T10 Set Bonuses

T10 2 piece:  230 APE

T10 4 piece:  410 APE

Unholy Spec

Cookie Cutter Unholy:  0/17/54

  • The currently held “best” spec by popular opinion.

SJ’s Unholy:  0/17/54

  • Loses 200 dps tops (maybe less) to gain Death Runes.

SJ’s Unholy Slow Spec (H LK):  0/17/54

  • Loses 400 dps and gains 15% movement.

Questions?

Post a comment or e-mail me:

Skeleton.Jack@hotmail.com

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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25
Jun

Questions and Answers by SJ

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Questions

Heya guys!!  It’s story time!!

“Yay!!”

Hush now little death machines and listen.  It’s time to learn how to kill people…

I’m trying out something new here and directly quoting the questions posed by my readers.

Hopefully you guys like it!

Skaven wrote:

Is it just me, or does it seem like unholy DK?s are getting haste stacked up all over them? Accelerated auto attacks and quicker rune regeneration doesn?t seem to be quite the flavor I was looking for in Unholy. Quick, fast and furious seems more of the dual wield thing, something which never appealed to me.

Keep in mind that with the new changes to DK’s in CATA, some old styles of playing may stay in place.  Frost Presence will be the new Blood Presence.  It’s entirely possible Unholy will still be playing in Frost Presence in CATA.

And yes, haste is an “uber” stat for Unholy now, and possibly in CATA as well…  But even so I do not foresee Unholy ever hitting as fast as Frost does, or simulating their playstyle.

Simon wrote:

Epidemic aside, have they increased disease durations? With the slower rune regeneration my worry would be that we really can?t spare two of them to re-apply diseases all the time, and the increased focus on targeted rather than AoE DPS should mean that use of Pestilence isn?t viable in a lot of situations?

The rumor mill has it that diseases are looking at a base duration somewhere between 20-40 seconds, with a duration of somewhere near 40-60 seconds talented.  That has not been confirmed, and is only speculation atm.  But it’s solid conjecture.

I seriously doubt Pestilence will stop being effective.  All AoE damage is supposed to be nerfed in CATA.  The sky isn’t falling yet.

Rod wrote:

Sorry about the previous comment.. the info i had was from Consider?s Cata notes page, which he says ?This information is simply gathered through spell IDs, which are available through a variety of public, legal websites?

Multiple posters have put comments here on this site listing information that clearly breaks the NDA agreement.  Just because they, or another site, didn’t get into the Alpha and never signed the NDA doesn’t mean that they are not doing something wrong.

MMO-Champion was already approached by Blizzard and told not to list their Cataclysm information (which was listed on MMO).  Responding quickly, MMO-Champion pulled all CATA related information from public view per Blizzard’s wishes.

What you have to remember is that smaller sites won’t “wake the beast” like larger sites will.  That said, staying under the radar is not enough for me.  As per Blizzard’s wishes, I will honor their NDA.  All NDA content posted on site by anyone will be deleted.

Trust me, you were not the only person by far.  Many, many people have posted comments that have been deleted.

Funkyliciouz wrote:

Hey man, do you know why they’ve added “Might of the Frozen Wastes”? – Ofc you dont^^

But what’s your thoughts about it? Seeing as they put a TWO Hand weapon skill in the tier10 part of the frost tree O_o?`Are they going to mess with ma dual wield pwnage :<?

Blizzard’s intention is to keep Frost viable for dps DK’s who do not want to use two 1H weapons or spec into Unholy.  With Blood becoming the tank tree, and Frost becoming the dual wield tree, 2H DK’s would be forced to spec Unholy in CATA.

Blizzard’s original game design for Death Knights was for them to be a two handed weapon class, with the option of dual wielding.  Dual wield was folded into Frost finally to make DW DK’s happy and to alleviate balance issues.

It should make you happy to know that Blizzard has stated that they intend to make Frost 2H viable, and will prop it up, but have no intention of letting it surpass DW Frost.  The goal is comparable, not better.

Barantos wrote:

This is a decent post the problem I see with alot of guilds is they let emotion get in the way for performance. Seem to be every guild I join and raid with someone?s terrible family member vcontinues to perform poorly and they are given a free pass. This eventually rubs most players the wrong way as this person wins gear over other raiders with better performance. I would like to see guild have more competition between classes.

This is a fine line to walk, and has made and broken many guilds.

On one side you want “cool” people in your guild that everyone gets along with.  On the other side you want top performers as well.  But what do you do when the top performers are complete asshats?

I think there is a balance that could be achieved, but again that is a very fine line to walk.  Ultimately the GM and officers should make a decision on what the focus of a guild is, and then the guild mates can make their own decisions as to whether to stay.

However, this is an issue that cannot be answered easily.  It really comes down to what guild you’re in, and what their priorities are.

Larísa wrote:

This seems very random and unfair since they even activiely invited BRK and let him stay inspite of his blogging. Booo for that kind of double standards.
Aside from that: I wouldn?t want to be either in the alpha or the beta. Software testing for free and the only thing you get for it is boredmom earlier when the real game launches. No thanks.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head.  While I like BRK (he’s who got me to start this site!), it is a complete double standard on Blizzard’s part.  That said, I’m glad he got in.  Hopefully it will pave the road for other people to get included down the road from our neck of the woods.

As to the testing, I’d *KILL* to get into the Alpha/Beta early.  Have you seen the proposed changes to Death Knights?!  Last time I got into the Beta so late that everything was done and decided.  My input meant nothing.

I would love to get in there and actually get some real testing done on my class changes so that I could iterate on the flaws and benefits, hopefully helping to improve my class balance as a whole!!

Henrique wrote:

yo SJ ! if u ever need help writing articles for the new website just sayt it. I can help typing the stuff on it if you want. also can bring up some articles. u have my email on this post if u ever need help

That has to be one of the worst applications to writing for someone I’ve ever seen, lol!! :D   Do you remember a thing called proper grammar?  ;)

While I am open to this concept, I am leery as hell too…  I tried this once before with Geist.  She did a few posts here on the site.

Ultimately the posts were not up to the standards I’d have liked them at, but they still offered a new perspective and useful information.  I had to do some editing on every post all the same, and in the end she quit WoW which curtailed her interest in posting about WoW, lol.

It would take someone really impressing the hell out of me for me to consider bringing them on as a writer.  And as I’m already focused on DPS and know a ton about it, I’d be likely only inclined if they had a deep understanding of PvP and/or Tanking to complement my skill sets.

And lastly, they’d have to have an ego the size of a flea.  I would be editing and changing their posts most likely.  Know someone who both has the credentials, some writing talent, the interest, and willingness to have me edit their posts?  I sure don’t!!  :)

ODK wrote:

how to find a good guild when you suck at relations but carry your weight in fights?

If you go back through some of my older posts (from today) you can see some of the approaches I used to applying to a new guild.  There’s even a whole post on it in “Improving Your Game by SJ”.

As to the “sucking at relations” part I’d recommend an old tried and true method.  Shut up and listen.

While that won’t work in the interview process (if they have one), it will work for everything else.  When you apply to a new guild keep your head low, comments to yourself, and just pay attention and listen.

Take the time to force yourself to joke around some with people and perform well.  If you do that, when you finally decide to weigh in on a subject people will listen.

As to “applying”…  If you don’t deal well with people then I can only suggest trying really hard not to mess up when on vent with them.  A good idea might be to have a friend who plays WoW to come over for the interview (if they have one) and make suggestions on what not to say.

Ultimately though, playing in a guild is part of the “social aspect” in WoW.  It’s something you’re going to have to find a way to integrate with or just get really lucky with finding a guild…

Dammanus wrote:

Hey SJ, can you please make a post on trinket alternatives…

I plan on making a post in the next week, to few weeks, regarding trinkets.

Seltor wrote:

Well, considering that he is NOT in the Alpha, he is not directly breaking any NDA policy.

Please also see Rod’s comment above in this post.

It amazes me how much “internet specific” legal issues are just ignored by people.  Downloading movies, music, hacked games, etc…  Those are all illegal, but people do it everyday without a concern.

You wouldn’t walk into a store and just take some movies and cd’s and steal them.  But you would download them without paying on the internet.  You = generic random person.

The phenomenon is amazing really.  If you take away the risk of punitive action people become 100% willing to break the law.  I’m sure there are psych studies on this, or at least there should be.

Just because someone didn’t sign the NDA themselves doesn’t mean they’re not breaking the law.

If you want to get down to it, Blizzard can prosecute anyone they want to for leaking CATA information.  And they can enforce it.  The law is on their side.

The NDA is what applies to the people playing in the Alpha and Beta.  But it is not the only law or “legal statute” in place protecting Blizzard.  Ever heard of things like intellectual rights, property laws, legal precedent, etc?

So you are correct.  He did not break the NDA.  That does not mean however that the multitudes of websites listing NDA information are not breaking the law.

It’s just easier to just say “NDA” when I refer to this stuff.  Are they gonna come after me if I list NDA information?  Not fricking likely.  But just because I could get away with NDA information on my site doesn’t mean I should.

I choose to honor Blizzard’s wishes.  If others do not, that is their prerogative.  But it isn’t “legal” to do so whatever you, or other websites, think.  Most likely they are fully aware that Blizzard could come after them, but just don’t care because they are too small of a fish.

Disclaimer: I take free movies from friends who download and burn them.  While I don’t download them myself, I will watch them.  The above was to make a point and to clarify my stance with this website.  I do not claim to be a saint.

Bulbasaur wrote:

Hi there SJ, I have a question about gliphs. Is it worth for an unholy dps spec to use gliph of disease and not reapply FF and PS manually? In your last articles you said it?s a dps gain with frost but I didn?t get if it?s truly worthly for unholies.

You can use a Pestilence rotation for unholy if you want to, but it is a dps loss.  I do not recommend using it except for an AoE or PvP specific build.

Luciferano wrote:

how much dps does your gargoyle give you over a point in necrosis?

I have no idea, but it’s a crap ton.  Do not ever drop Gargoyle as Unholy.  Don’t do it!!

Valishna wrote:

Was just wondering if you could do a post about the use of army of the dead on raid bosses in wotlk. I often doubt if i can use it or not. Would be nice if we could get some info bout using it on bosses. Thnx anyway and keep up the good work.

ICC

Excepting Dreamwalker and Lich King you should use AotD just before the pull on every boss.  There are two exceptions.

Lady Deathwhisper – if you are on adds, and depending on placement and /petattack macros, you might not want to pop army here.  You could make life hell on your tanks for picking up adds.  Use at your own risk.

Professor Putricide – you use army twice here as Unholy.  Once at the start of the encounter, and then again at the start of the final phase.  That said, with the new 25% dps buff in effect, if your guild’s dps is high enough then this may no longer be possible.

Bliksem wrote:

Can you comment on whether or not you should be using blood presence or unholy presence while unholy spec?ed for max dps ??

Blood Presence always.  While UP can do comparable dps in some situations, it is not as effective as Blood Presence.  This goes for all currently “viable” dps specs in the 3.x+ world.

Dorraemir wrote:

Will you be using your Unholy ?Slow? spec for HLK?  Hopefully ur guild will allow it.

I have both specs prepped now and I’ve regemmed for them as well.  I plan on playing Unholy at H LK unless our Enhancement Shaman is not there.

Rikukun wrote:

In response to what you said about frost being better than blood, I am in all 251+ gear, other than a 245 neck. you can look me up on the armory if you want, im pretty sure im the only lv80 dk in the game with this name. Maybe i still need to get even more geared for frost to pull ahead, because outside of aoe im not seeing specing into frost being any different than blood with reaping. Also one specific question. If I were spec?d into reaping, and used scourge strike with the death runes, would I pull less dps than I would if I used the death runes for blood strike? thanks!

so i actually just tested that spec out (and modified it for dirge) and came to the conclusion that it is better than the icy talons spec if you have improved icy talons or windfury totem on you, but if you dont have either of these buffs, then the spec using icy talons is better?.which really just kinda bugs me that the spec is buff dependant.

Unholy has a few dps options for spec’ing around at lower gear levels.  Whether you go sub-Blood or sub-Frost should not matter a great deal at your ilvl.  Personal preference is what I’d recommend.

Reaping is a dps loss, but it’s a loss of less than 200 dps.  I’m not even convinced it’s a dps loss of more than 100 dps honestly.  You give up 3 talent points that only generate 300 dps to begin with, and 1 SS beats out 2 BS for dps.  *shrug*

If you have Reaping, use SS.

As to that spec that I purposely did not relink, that would be a “negatory”.  It’s a dps loss in a full raid with full raid buffs and debuffs.

And whenever I talk to you guys about dps, I always assume that you have all raid buffs and debuffs.  I’m not getting into debates on situations where x buffs and y debuffs exist.  That would be hell.

ODK wrote:

Heya SJ, for another idea on a post, could ya maby make a post of up to date WoW information and data sites or something? seems all the sites i use to use are old, stuff like guildprogress, where to find top dps lists that are accurate, stuff like warcrafter and wowjitsu are all old and those are examples of stuff i run into when i search for wow sites, without having a direct suggestion from someone i dont seem to find much of anything up to date, theres aLOT of old non-updated sites out there?.. just a thought tho?

It is on the list sir!

Skeleton Jack vs Blizzard

For all those who enjoyed the post: Skeleton Jack versus Blizzard thank you!!  :D

The post idea came from a friend and I wasn’t sure if my attempt at humor would be well received.  Thanks again for the comments there!!  :)

You have questions?  I have answers!!

Sometimes it takes a while to get them all out, but I do try!!  Leave a comment here on site or drop me an e-mail any time.

Skeleton.Jack@hotmail.com

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

Tags:

24
Jun

Improve Your Game by SJ: Intel vs AMD

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in Improve Your Game by SJ

Heya guys!!

So I’ve been trying to put together a “dream system” to pick up down the road and I kept coming to the question,

“What’s better?  Intel or AMD?  And why in the hell are the prices so different?!”

Well I think you guys should take a look at this link from CPU Benchmark!

So yes, AMD is cheaper.  But if you take a look at that you will see why.  I’ve used AMD for years.  It works and I like it.  But I do believe I will be moving over to Intel.

And that is without even going into triple channel versus dual channel, specs, etc…  CPU performance alone shows Intel as superior option most of the time.  But there are some price ranges where AMD will be superior from a price perspective.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

Tags:

23
Jun

Quicky Post: Skeleton Jack Update!

   Posted by: Skeleton Jack   in DPS, Raids

Heya guys!!

I sat down and I regemmed to Strength for red/blue sockets and Strength/Hit for yellow sockets with good bonuses.  The hit is mostly due to Frost still being my “primary” raid spec, but I’m tired of being nerfed when I need to respec Unholy.

I also have 3 pieces of gear I swap in/out now when changing specs due to weird hit/expertise changes/needs.

Why?  Our Unholy DK sits sometimes, or misses sometimes…  So my dps is nerfed without him there and I don’t see a need to stay Frost when we have an Enhancement Shaman in raid, but no Unholy DK…

Also, with H LK being our primary focus now (we can clear 11/12 in one evening), I plan on bringing Desecration to the table when we need it.  Possibly full time for that encounter.  I’m not happy with Frost for H LK.

Overall I’m pretty pleased with the change.  Yes it does hurt my Frost DPS some.  But I’m willing to take that hit for the versatility of being able to swap to Unholy any time I need to without suffering a much harder hit.

Should you do this?  No idea.  I swapped gems twice now (like 20+ gems down the drain) and this is what I’ve found to suit me the best.  YMMV.

With the 25% buff in place, and full raid buffs/debuffs, I pulled 14.9 k effective dps on DBS (15.1 k dps).  So while it’s not “top ranked”, it’s still solid.  Plus I keep getting passed over on loot, so my gear is still not on par with a lot of the top ranked DK’s.

In time we will see if this has a larger impact that I don’t foresee.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…

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