Larísa’s post the other day (just shows how long ago this post was drafted) got me thinking about the cyclical nature of WoW blogs. I know I was meant to be thinking about what Wolfshead had written and Larísa’s dismay at this, but the problem was, I have seen it before.

Rewriting, Rewording, Rehashing, Reblogging Re:WoW

I’ve been blogging about WoW for 2.5 years, closer to 3, close enough to half the life of the game. I know there are many out there that have blogged since day one, before in fact.

What I write here won’t stop any of us writing, nor force us to change our topic of choice, but to ignore it would be silly.

Of course blogging is more like Twitter than Larisa may ever realize.

Twitter is like a stream of consciousness that the reader drops in and out of. Tweets prior or post that brief moment may as well not exist. So even though you may encounter something tweeted a million times before, if it’s the 1st time you see the tweet, it’s new, fresh, exciting.

Some might even consider the same with schoolyard jokes, and they go back decades… Maybe centuries.

Q: What’s brown and sticky?

When a little kid sprouts a joke you last heard 30 years before hand, the 1st thought you have is “is that joke still around?”. Of course the kid is cackling like and insane Gnome Fire Mage, because the joke is new, fresh, exciting.

A: A Stick

So let’s see, what is rewritten, reworded, rehashed, rebloged, Re:WoW

Hello… Goodbye… Hello…

Saresa is the Grand Mistress of this, the teary, sometimes pointed farewell, followed reasonably soon by a hello post plus a few more, just enough to reignite your passion, then farewell once more.

Still, I will forgive Saresa most things, even her unfortunate choice of class and pray she will return for one more encore.

The new blogger is something else, especially with the story of what has intervened in their posting schedule between their first post and second (yes, I do this occasionally, but try to make it a blog post in it’s own right).

Euripedes once posted on how annoying the apology post is and true to his word has become silent without explanation. While I worry, I respect one less “I’ve been busy” post (and he is back with a suitable tale of woe)

Q: Why was six afraid of seven?

How to level profession or class

Everyone has one tucked away somewhere, I have a series. Pick this herb, do this quest.

For those that have been there done that, they are a quick “mark as read”, for those that haven’t they are a limitless mining node of information and occasionally passion.

Of course even the most jaded veteran reaches the point where an alt is better than quitting, then the search is on for every post that can be collated into the future of the alt.

How to make money

Gawd, if I had a copper for every gold making post, a gold for every gold making blog, then I would never have to farm or visit the AH again.

Just when it seems every avenue for gold making has been exhausted, along comes another post, another post, another…

How to make more money.

Yeah, just when you were sitting comfortably on 50,000 gold, a post and/or a blog comes along that makes it perfectly clear that you are worthless without at least 999,999,999 gold… on each toon.

But god forbid you spend a copper!

A: Because seven eight nine!

WoW is awesome because…

Well I guess because it is.

I doubt there are many blogs that find their birth in “WoW sucks”. Sure there are some (What?!? My Mage Sucks! is back and writing!), but most of us bloggers start the whole process due to the overwhelming joy we experience and our need to share that with people that understand the joy.

Our real world companions may never know our passion, but there is an audience of potentially millions (but in reality hundreds or thousands) that can read and experience our joy through our words because they are so familiar. Many of those readers go on to become bloggers in their own right.

WoW sucks because…

Q: What did the duck say when he bought lipstick?

Heh, because it does. For some of us more than others, sometimes more than others.

Some people have one big “Blizzard fucked it all” post a week after an expansion release. Others have a series of them as an expansion draws to a close.

My class is the best because

Mages are FULL STOP!

Occasionally Warlocks drop by to disagree, but then they are the new QQ class.

Every class blogger loves their class to the extreme that they will research and write about it for more hours in a week than they probably work (especially if they are writing from work)

So expect the “My class is best” posts… Often followed by the…

My class is nerfed.

When you invest so much into a class, any change, even one that will reduce the OP and increase the interest is a nerf.

Even Druids cry about sensible nerfs to CC which will allow them what they always claimed they wanted, a proper fight with a Mage.

Their class is OP

After running around the Arena for 15 minutes chasing a stinking Resto Druid in cat form all I can say is “they are OP!”.

A: Put it on my bill.

Maybe it’s a bit of talent envy. Maybe it’s a bit of “If they can have my evocate, why can’t my mana gem return health as well?”

Sometimes it isn’t about feeling nerfed, wanting a buff, sometimes it’s just about not wanting others to have more fun than us (of course if we just stopped our bitching and enjoyed our class it wouldn’t matter)

This instance/raid is too hard

… and I don’t pay $15 per month to have to think.

If I can’t beat the game in 24 hours like all those cast off consoles in the corner of the room, I want nerfs and I want them now!

This instance/raid is too easy

Q: What goes Oh, Oh, Oh?

Meh, I could have taken the time to enjoy the quest text, but I steamrolled my way to the top only to discover you made the instance for the majority… not for me!

Screw your bell curve distributions, if it isn’t impossible it isn’t worth playing.

My achievement

Guilty?

Who me?

Some achievements are worth sharing, others make a nice image to break the Bearwall ™, sometimes they deserve a guide.

Rarely is the “I got an achievement”, of itself, worthy of a post.

But hell, it’s your blog, if you want to regale me with tales of your daily chores, like my mother did for 40 years (I got off light, I pity my siblings 60 years of chore tales), then go right ahead.

If it’s the only thing you ever post, I probably won’t hang around long, but if we have “that relationship” I will probably be /cheering for you from my desk (a real cheer would be far too unseemly).

A: Santa walking backwards

All PuGs suck

Many do and sometimes it comes in waves, the biggest wave in memory came from the introduction of LFD.

Bad PuGs (or bad players, or opinionated players or sub-optimized player) are easy targets and frequent enough to give bloggers fodder.

At the end of the day, WoW blogs are personal web logs, so it’s only natural that a blogger will use their own “personal space” to vent, to unload on relatively anonymous targets in posts that every reader can relate to.

Battleground players suck

A personal favorite, something I haven’t had much cause to complain about lately. Believe it or not most PuG BGs I have been in lately have been well played.

Throw in a holiday achievement involving the BGs and the wowblogsphere runs with blood. Lovers of PvP want the achievement gone so they can play BGs in a competitive manner they love. BG shunners cry about the unfairness of being forced into an aspect of the game for an optional achievement and being ganked by PvP lovers that can’t believe their luck at being handed a plate full of bunnies for honor kills.

Either way, blood flows, tears flow and it is as regular as the holiday calendar.

He/She/It is a loot whore

Q: What do you get if you cross a kangaroo with a sheep (still one of my all time favorites)

Random PuGs, guildies, friends, lovers, BoPs, BoEs, crafting mats… Loot Ninja’ing whores the lot of them.

We’ve all got a story and the stories never end. Occasionally spurred on by a change in interface, crafting or BoP status, there are a million of these out there waiting to be told.

My guild sucks/rools

My guild sucks. There is no drama, they hand out epics purely because you are there, they join in events they have no real interest in purely to make the numbers and maintain the sickening positive attitude that prevails in our guild.

Screw you Streakers!

That is bound to change right, at which point I can unload in my personal space, destroy friendships and make them rue the day they invited a blogger into their midst.

Guilds can be the inspiration of awesomely good and bad encounters.

Ha! Even Armaggedon’s Coming had frequent disputes between it’s two primary guildies (Gnomeaggedon and Squidly). That was a source of quite a few posts.

A: A wooly jumper

My guild broke up/I just joined a new guild.

The future is bright…

… WTF happened there?

Bloggers, often guild leaders as well, suffer very publicly for a guild split. They also share their newfound joy at a new Guild membership (not that I would ever do that with Streakers).

Of course, just like the Hello… Goodbye blogger posts, many Guild posts are a rollercoaster of /ginvite, /gkick and /gquit (you know they now have a confirmation dialog now to stop all those accidental /gquits?)

Gnomeaggedon is OP!

Q: What has four wheels and flies?

I don’t think I really need to add much to this. If I’m not stating this blatantly obvious fact, then there are a league of bloggers more than happy to do so.

Personally I approve of any blog post that supports this statement of fact.

WoW mechanics suck

Mechanics come in all shapes and sizes (some even display plumbers cracks). Often one person’s awesome mechanic is another’s nightmare.

Whether it’s a class, profession or boss mechanic there are always opportunities to write 1,000 words about how it is killing puppies in their sleep and how Blizzard should have known this 30 years ago.

WoW mechanic is broken

Worse than the “bad mechanic” is the good mechanic gone wrong. Whether it’s food summoning portals that DC you or resetting bosses, there is always more mileage in a bitching blog post that a simple big report on the official forums.

A: A garbage truck.

WoW mechanic is broken (and here is how to take advantage of it)

Ohh what?

The Horde will DC purely by mousing over that Fish Feast?

Bloody hell, better write a blog post about putting one down in the middle of EotS.

If there is something to be gained by abusing a Blizzard mistake (especially when it is already destroying all your game time), then best to tell the world.

Blog begins: I’m a noob writing for noobs.

My dog has no nose

Many, most (?), WoW blogs start from the desire to share noobish learnings to help people avoid the mistakes we gave taken to gain our wisdom.

It isn’t patronizing, it’s a true desire to share, from one noob to another, knowledge and experience to help those starting at level one all the way to the end game.

Blog ends: I’m 1337 writing for 1337’5 not for scrubs.

I don’t know what happens, but somewhere down the line many (not all by any stretch of the imagination) switch from bring shepherds to power crazed dictators.

Do what I say or fuck off!

I need to point out that I have avoided this transformation by virtue of always being an elitist arsehole.

How does it smell?

I’m right, your wrong

Yeah, so great that you hold a view and have the confidence to share it, but wake up to yourself… I’m right, your wrong, L2P!, your mum!

God help us if we ever reach a position were everyone’s opinion was accepted for what it is, an individual’s opinion.

Meh, who am I kidding, disrespect of another’s opinion is the perfect starting point for any post.

My bank is filled with…

Has it happened this quarter?

Maybe just before Cataclysm.

The post where we share screenshots and lists of our blog contents, like we open our personal diary and reveal our soul through those useless trinkets kept for no sensible reason.

Awful!

My pets/mounts are…

More sharing, or keeping up with the Jones’ or maybe just showing the love for another aspect in the multidimensional game we call WoW. Some care not for raiding unless it leads to a new pet or mount.

• My latest acquisition
• My favorite little buddy
• My next goal
• OMFG! A sparkling pony? WTF!

They are all variants on the same theme.

How to blog

L2B nub!

Hehe, nah really.

Sometimes the L2B post is a “you are doing it all wrong post”, but more often it is an extremely useful post (or series) that helps the experiences or starts the newbie.

It was such a series by Matticus all those years ago that prompted me to click the 1/2 dozen required buttons at WordPress and start blogging.

There are gems in every one of them for new and old bloggers alike.

Without these posts I think the WoW blogging community would be several shades duller (the world, my world at least, would be bland without Matt’s inspirational posts which got me started), without fresh meat to inspire and entertain.

Same magic, different post

So while in the case of Wolfshead (and many like him) it might be same shit, difference expansion, in most cases is the same magic, presented in a new and entertaining way by a different entertaining writer and for many readers it may well be the first time the topic has ever been addressed.

While it makes sense to start at post 1 and traverse the 553 and counting posts at DardandDroids web comic, you would have to be completely bonkers (or Prelimar or a spam bot) to start at my 1st post and read to here.

Why would you bother anyway… In this marvelous stream of thought that is the blogging community, you are bound to encounter a similar topic to my 784 and counting posts, written better, possibly by someone with a fresher perspective than mine.

If you are a new reader or blogger, don’t fear you will read or write the same thing at some point – revel in it, it’s a sign of a healthy community.

If you are a veteran reader or writer, don’t shy from the same old magic, there is always someone waiting for your unique perspective!

Gnomer and Out!

One-one was a racehorse.
Two-two was one too.
One day One-one won one race.
And Two-two won one too.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/04/06/rewriting-rewording-rehashing-reblogging-rewow/

Well my today, your tomorrow.

Whenever the 6th falls for you.

So I am hoping you can all help me out.

You see I am not so good with words… Oh I can spew hundreds, nay thousands of them into a blog post without any difficulty, however there is nothing pretty about it.

Therefore I need your help…

Write Krizzly some prose (I think that’s something like literary), or a Limerick, a haiku, or, I don’t know…

He’s one of those literary types.. so I know he loves it… something about Steam-Punk-Fu?

Any Fu is Good Foo?

So. write it in the comments below, so when Krizzly wakes up for his birthday, he’s got a big birthday card waiting for him.

Krizzlybear, Krizzlybear, Krizzlybear,
You change my days to happiness, from despair,
You stand up for Frost
So we know all is not lost,
Happy birthday to you Krizzlybear!

Gnomer and Out

PS: you know how I know it’s Krizzlybear’s birthday today?

I share the birthday with him.

Last year I pipped him with my post, so this year the post is just for him!

The major difference between Kriz & I (apart from separate hemispheres) is about 20 years… yet he looks so young!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Just a short one, because as instructed, I have put my feet up and I am in the process of knocking over a few Dwarven ales.

Still, considering the last couple of posts about achievements, I can’t let this one slip through.

I’m not sure whether I should be thanking:

• The 300,000 of you that visited once… or
• The 1 of you that visited 300,000 times… or
• The 299,999 attempts by spammers + the  one of you that dropped by.

Whoever I need to thank, and I’m sure you know who you are…

THANKS!

Gnomer and Out!

PS: I don’t do it for the hits.. and I have long since stopped publishing these things, but I just couldn’t help myself, because you know what day I hit 300k?

Yep the same day I knocked over Loremaster & Explorer.

Thanks for coming!

In the last week or so we have seen a few Bloggers hang up their keyboards Pike, Drug, Jong and I suspect Megan by association (she did give notice a while back… But looks like she is leaving us on a cliff hanger) and a few more.

(Although there is one Locktess with the Mostess that wont stay down…)

It is hard to take the blogger disappearances especially if you are a loyal fanboy errr reader like me.

The 1st time Megan threw in the blogging towel I was devastated. I spent that day in a complete daze and the next couple scratching my head.

I embarked on campaigns to bring her back… I did the same with Jong later.

In hindsight I realize how selfish I was… Still am for that matter. These wonderful people, wonderful writers gave a piece of themselves regularly, if not daily, then closed the door.

They are mine… ALL MINE!

I wonder if a part of it is that I have assumed a relationship with then that never really existed.

• I love their writing.
• I share their views
• I share their sense of humor.
• I have been let into their lives and explored them in great detail.

Then I realize that I know Jong is a bourbon swilling Retpally. As time went on I discovered he was a banker that was going to buy a tropical island and employ us all. Now he is an unemployed banker in torn pants scrambling across the floor searching for the dissected parts of his left nut.

Megan, who I have “known” longer is a sometime Lock, sometime Pally, often bourbon swilling (the image from OOM will be forever burnt in my brain – I assume it was Megan… Hell, I assume Megan really is “Megan”) mystery.

So in reality I know nothing more about these people than what has been presented to me on their blogs. Blogs which by their very virtue bent the rules of life, WoW and blogging to suit the need of the post at hand.

Yet I am sad at their loss. Undoubtedly sadder at their loss than many RL friends that I did know the intimate details of (maybe one good reason I feel less sorrow for their loss?).

Of course they haven’t gone. They will live on forever, if not in clear memories, in changes to my perspective of the world.

I’m no stalker…

I won’t remove the shrines to these bloggers in my house, the rooms wallpapered with their glorious posts, but I will let them move on with their lives, grateful for all they have gifted to me.

Of course, when I score a free ticket to the States, I will employ stalker cam or celebrity tracker so I can hunt them down and suck the dregs of the bourbon off their ice cubes.

The farewell and the invitations.

So I wish you all the very best of luck with job hunting, doctoring, n00b hunting, whatever fills your life and makes it worthwhile.

You are always welcome to drop by, read, comment, even raise the tone of this blog by posting some random guest post. I don’t expect it will happen, I certainly won’t demand a guest post, or a rerun to blogging, but my door is open.

Speaking of open doors… If you ever do make it to Australia and come to Melbourne, my physical door is open, space will be made, panties returned.

If you are a blogger and are torn up about the conflict between writing your blog to satisfy your readers and letting it rest to get on your life, choose George Michael… errr life…

You have given, we have consumed. You will be missed, but you will be honored in our memories.

I’m not going anywhere

I’m still here, I haven’t gone and currently don’t plan to stop. You may have noticed that I have been posting less lately.

No need to panic. There are plenty of things going on in RL that are reducing my blogging time. I have a million things I want to write about, which is one of the problems… Which one to start, which one to finish, which one got away.

The other thing is I am loving the game still. Unlike many that are feeling a pre-cataclysm decline, I am totally committed and there is never enough time in game to complete my objectives.

The problem is when you are chasing Loremaster while in the PvP queue, there is no time for blogging… If it takes 3 BGs just to cross a room and visit the quest giver… How am I going to find the time to write?

I will be posting as often as possible (or as I desire).

Although I have promised Arioch not to post for a little while… (you aren’t reading this are you Arioch?) I just got my feedreader down to 600 unread posts!

So until I write a real post… Enjoy your game, enjoy your life, remember our lost bloggers fondly.

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/03/04/gone-but-not-forgotten/

Frost is the New Black

What Frost Means To Me… [by Gnomer!]

Pink Pigtail Inn

This Rounds on Me!

Forebearance

A Guest Post: Gnomeaggedon’s “I Smell Xmas Panties”

For the Horde

O Hai Thrall

That’s it for now.

Until I get moved into the new place I will be AFB (Away from Blog), but all being well I will be back Monday my time…

Ohh final note, thanks to those that have let me share my thoughts on their blog.

Thanks also to Krizzlybear and Sylus for doing guest posts here at the home of the Gnome.

If I don’t get to you before, Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year (with no offense intended to others of other faiths, but this is the season to be Santa),

Gnomer and Out, Squidly and Stout!

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/12/18/reindeer-droppings/

Hey folks, just a quick follow up.

I know a few of you decided to try living with out you word verification.  Some of you appropriately took my request as a demand (or was it the other way around), others have just tried it out.

Nibuca (She’s been getting heaps of mentions lately), sent the post out on a #tntcast, which I guess means there is a chance she will raise it on TNB this week.

The other thing she has been doing is giving daily updates on the change in her spam levels.

Her’s have gone up, mine have gone… well mine haven’t changed much.

In the last week 400 odd comments went straight to the spam keeper, I wasn’t even disturbed by them.

After the wow.com linkage I got the usual batch of scrapped wow.com posts linking back to me. Only one got through, 5 others were captured for moderation.

I have had a false positive, my 1st in a long time, which was quickly fixed (once I woke up this morning).

How about you?

I know Nib hates (code) hacks, so I’m sure she would like a bit more data than my positive and her average-going-on-painful experiences.

Leave a comment with your word verification free experiences.

Ohhhh and for the record, my settings look a little like this…

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/12/04/dear-bloggers-hows-the-spam-battle-going/

Get rid of word verification!

I guess it makes you feel safer, maybe a little less bothered by spam.

I wonder if it bothers you that you get less comments?

It certainly bothers me that I leave less comments, that you make it more difficult for me to leave comments.

I always found it a pain after crafting my comment (actually before I even leave my comment it’s such a pain to have to go to a new page… But that’s your blogging platform of choice… Your choice), that either I mistype the word verification or it times out.

Instead of me leaving a comment and walking away with a smile, I grunt, die a little inside and have another go. All being well I haven’t flicked to another page and forgotten the unposted comment.

Mobile Hater!

The thing is these days I do 80%+ of my reading via my iPhone. Once again, this is a bit drawn out.

1. Read in feedreader & decide to comment.
2. Open post page itself
3. Open comments page
4. Make comment
5. Choose profile
6. Enter word verification
7. Pray everything goes to plan

It is incredibly painful!

I have been commenting on some blogs lately that at 1st glance have a comment friendly page.

• The comments section is on the post page – great!
• It is going to ask for my profile ID rather than make me fill in 3 fields of details – awesome!

I comment, hit Post and…

30 seconds later when the page comes back my comment failed…

I hit Post again and…

Word Verification… F’n stupid word verification!

At this point it’s 50/50 whether I leave the comment or not. I have gone to the trouble to get to the page, write the comment and wait to discover my comment hasn’t gone through.

But now the element of frustration is as high as the desire to comment.

God forbid if your blog is the 2nd or 3rd blog in a row with this system. As soon as I see it, I close the page and go looking for a comment friendly blog instead.

If you are an awesome blogger that’s getting 10′s or 100′s of comments a day mixed in with hundreds of spam, then I guess I can’t blame you for having an extra level of frustration built into your commenting system.

If your not that awesome (I sure as hell aren’t) then make it easy, or at least easier.

Your spam filter will automatically catch most of it. I’m not sure about your blog but I know I haven’t seen the 3,000 odd spam comments that have been blocked from here. I have only seen a fraction because most just get shafted automatically.

I guess the question for you as the blogger is:

What’s more important:

• Screwing everyone to ensure that you never have to deal with any spam, while screwing and discouraging your real readers, or
• Making life easier for the already timid commenters and dealing with the 10 spam per week that get through and require you to press that “Delete Spam” button.

I’ll leave it to you, but just for the record, if I, someone that loves to read AND comment, is discouraged from leaving comments, how is anyone else going to feel?

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/12/01/dear-bloggers/

Cos I’m
T.N.B. – I’m Dynamite
T.N.B. – And I’ll win the fight
T.N.B. – I’m a power-load
T.N.B. – Watch me Explode

Holy Worg Poo BatGnome!

Jong bubbled and hearthed his way through Twisted Nether Blogcast last week (of course he didn’t run in fear).

Which leaves this hot little Gnome the opportunity to port into his still warm seat…

I hope I don’t get pregnant… I have heard of people getting pregnant from sharing seats…

What?  Boys don’t get pregnant?  Tell that to Arnie!

Yep, the big balls of fire will be thrown, the totems dropped and an unstoppable stream of inane Dad jokes will spew forth from my lips.

What, When, Where?

When: Saturday 3pm AEST
Where: The usual place (If you go to Ustream instead of TNB, you can be more than anonymous… I’m not sure if I like anonymous… I don’t like stalkers… well I like me, but, you know I don’t like being stalked.)

What?  You don’t know what an AEST is?

Saturday, Really?

Well it is for those of us ahead of the rest… Just think, while you are getting ready to raid.. or go to bed (like Papa Sylus), I will be refreshed after a good nights sleep, probably already had lunch and let’s face it… at 3pm, the recycle box will already be full of empties.

For the rest of you that (like me) don’t know how to use a time converter, or unlike me, never knew there really was a place called Oz (Aus), filled with Ozzies (Aussies), here’s the standard line they feed you.. well it’s actually last weeks, with me superseding Jong… Kinda pushing him out the door…

My Turn! My Turn!

Join Fim and Nib as they talk with Me (and Me, and Me), “the pimpest dope ret pally you never known” “The Hotest little Gnome Fire Mage you have ever known”.

Listen in our LIVE chat room and we’ll take questions (and hopefully answer them if we can).

When is it?: This live show is scheduled for Friday November 27th at 8pm PST (11pm EST). Not sure what time that is for you? Use this handy-dandy time converter! (Hey this is even easier… Lookup up Australian Eastern Daylight Savings (Or Summer… yeah it’s nearly Summer here… phew!) Time, or Melbourne, or Sydney… don’t look up Kangaroos, they are sleeping in the shade of a Gum tree at 3pm, but they will be on the move again about 6pm)
Where do I go? To participate on the live show, you will need to go to the TNB Live Show page to connect with the stream. See, totally easy. If you are having issues then go to the Ustream page.
Some general ground rules:

• When you hear the hiss of a stubbie, or chink of a tinny being opened, you must say:

Ahhh Fosters Lager, it’s got the flavor, that’s taking it all ’round the world

Then reason we are sending it around the world is the flavor is crap… however it’s cousin’s Carlton Draft, Victoria Bitter, Melbourne Bitter and Crown Lager… well let’s just say they are the hot girls in the family that you want to take out that back after thanksgiving dinner.

• Be nice. If you say very inappropriate things be aware you will be kicked from the room. We are doing this to have a great time, come with a beer, come during a raid, come how you wish, just don’t come to cause trouble.

• You may ask questions to the participants during the show, but we reserve the right to use them if and when we can. I will be monitoring the chat room and if I can I will use the comments during the show. We love that you are with us, but I will have to weave them in. Even if it isn’t  asked, we all appreciate your questions

• Outside of that, we will love to have you join us and partake in an enlightening discussion that is sure to follow! Hope to see you there!

Want to join a pointless Guild?  We haz Tabbardz!

Assuming my PC can handle it, I will be online on Aman’Thul eagerly awaiting your 20,000 gold in unmarked cloth sacks for which you will receive a complimentary invitation my Clayton’s Guild (The Guild you have when you not having a Guild) and maybe a screenshot or two.

I might even splash out on a couple of guild tabbards… like the 1g online versions, not the $25.00 RL ones… You think I’m crazy?  It’s not like I’m going to sell that gold online or anything…

It’s a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll!

Yep, this last one is my home town…

I walk down this street every day on the way to work… not all that far from AC/DC Lane

Gnomer and Out, Squidly and Stout!

Damn Kriz.. give me a chance already…

WoW! I have a new guild member… all the way from the frozen wastes to, well the frozen wastes of WoW… as I was preparing for bed and he was preparing for breakfast…

He raised a important point… There IS NO SUCH THING AS OCEANIC SERVERS… If you have a US account, you can come and play on our Oceanic LABELED servers… yeah different tag, same lag… well probably better for you…. /sob

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/24/incoming-big-balls-of-fire-on-tnb/

Where are the Resto Shaman Blogs?

Ok, that wasn’t the question, but for once I was “there” so I am just quoting based on my short term memory.

My immediate response was to reel of a series of blogs that deal to some extent or another with Resto Shaman.

You can find them on my ReadByGnome page as well as listed out below, but still it raised an interesting thought.

• Priest blogs… Dime a dozen
• Tree Blogs… Just waiting for the forest fire to thin them out…
• Pally Blogs… Boring… Well how much can you write about one, maybe two healing spells.
• Resto Shamanism seems to be one of those areas that suffer as much burnout as altaholics grinding Argent Crusade rep.

I Know Nuffink!

I can’t say that I have gotten to the point where I feel knowledgeable enough to write guides on gear, specs etc.

I have contemplated writing some stiff on healing various instances, after all I am in the thick of it right now and knowing when to drop the cleansing totem or tremor totem is as, if not more, important than whether to cast healing wave, lease healing wave or chain heal.

I haven’t done so yet though, in fact I realize now I haven’t even read any on the topic. I know Jagerbombz wrote some back in the early days of Wrath, but I haven’t yet read then in the dying days.

So I guess I have a couple of questions.

Where are the Resto Shaman Bloggers and the resources they can offer?

and

Why do they appear and disappear quicker than a flame totem?

• I don’t know that it’s too easy.
• Maybe it’s too hard.
  Not so much to play, but rather to teach.

Born to Kill

I think one of the things I like about the Resto Shaman is it really seems suited to PvP.

Not that it’s OP, but rather that it requires the same flexibility in thinking. You may enter an encounter with one set of totems, using one style of healing, but come out the other side with completely different skills in use.

Can you teach that?

Can you write a guide on how to NOT have a strategy, rather to get into the flow, anticipate and act?

Needless to say, I don’t have any answers, but I’m not hanging up the blogging boots any time soon and if I find some time I will try to write something that vaguely resembles a shaman guide or two… Right after I write a Mage guide or two… kk

The game isn’t just for the Old Skool, there are plenty of folks (like me) that have just discovered their new passion.

After all, those that know how to play their Mages and Shaman only read this blog to laugh at the stupidity I spout, there is a whole group of suckers waiting to be misled by this Gnome and his Chain Heal throwing mate.

So if you do write (or have the desire to write) a Resto Shaman blog, remember that we aren’t all skipping Ulduar because it’s beneath us.  Many of us are still trying to work out which way up the totems go (and the packaging gives no indication!).

So don’t be shy about writing the basics… that’s one of the ways that blogs shine.  We keep out info up to date and are a great resource for those just turning to the class for the 1st time.

Try these, you just might like them

Try out some of these blogs. Poke them and prod them if they don’t have the info you need us Shaman are used to sticks, so put them to good use.

Apologies ion advance for those I miss.. I’m tired right now… if you don’t write one please throw the details in the comments!

• Addicted to Heals
• Altadin
• Blueberry Totem
• Green Bar Spec
• LFM: Need Healer Plz: A WoW Blog
• Shamantics
• Shields Up!
• Too Many Annas
• Totem Healz
• The Global Corporation of Matticus (look for Lodur’s stuff)
• Ensidia
• PlusHeal forums of course
• and my bad PvP oriented Resto Shaman stuff

edit: Check out Drug’s post:

Mastering Shaman Healing

Thanks for the heads up Cass, just shows you how far behind in my feedreading I am…

Gnomer and Out, Squidly and Stout!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/20/resto-shaman-where-for-art-thou/

I am being appreciated for what I am, who I am… DPS!

Sure it took a Shadow Priest to acknowldge me, but Gnomeaggedon has a lot to say on this subject, so thanks for the invite Cassandri, let me begin.

Whoah there little Gnome! What make you think Cass was talking about you?

Ummm Mage = DPS in it’s purest sense, so of course she is talking about me.

Pffft you think you can heal, but I can’t DPS? Step aside little Gnome before a cloven hoof tattoos your bald spot!

Cassandri brings us up to speed:

In truth I don’t think about DPS much when I’m writing for Hots & Dots. I’m much more philosophical about healing, PVP and people, probably because I don’t really understand any them at all. That’s what I tend to write about.

A Q&A for DPS (unnamed) was started by Death Goddess. I thought it was a great idea and it was very sensible of Death Goddess to let the temperamental healers and tanks have their moment in the spotlight first. I refuse to subscribe to a blog written by a Death Knight so I had no idea that this was actually started a couple weeks back.

First off, let me send you round to read some of the great posts that I’ve read in this circle: Spazmoosifer talks about Shadow Priest DPS and Roxxon actually came up with some pretty profound stuff for a Mage (OK Gnome highlighted this very important word).

I’d love to hear Cynwise talk about his Warlock – we have so many raiders entering the discussion and not enough PVPers! I’d also like to hear from Gnomeaggedon since I find myself nodding my head furiously whenever I read his posts.

Lettuce Begin

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?

Gnomea-ooofffff-geddon. Hey watch your elbow! GNOME FrostFire Mage (Gnome being the most important part)

Squ-Owwww-idly. Get your staff out of there! Some-Time Elemental Shaman, always DPS, even when healing.

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)

Gnomeaggedon: In bed, I DPS them girls till they forget their names!

Squidly: Fool Gnome, just because you are spending more time offline than on doesn’t mean you are mixing it up with Oomaggedon… Anyway, I saw her 1st and she came to visit me!

For the record I primarily DPS in Instances when there are Holy Priests that don’t know how to Shadow.

I will throw out the odd offensive spell when I am healing though… I need an excuse to drink.

Gnomeaggedon: When I can be bothered logging on it’s 5-10-25 man stuff in that order, heavily weighted to the 5 man end at the moment. A few months back it was 10 man or nothing.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?

Squidly: Whack a Gnome. I use Healbot to try to thump the Gnome Mages over the head with a rank 1 LHW… Don’t want to overheal!

If there aren’t any Gnomes, then it’s a toss up.

Chain Lightning cause it’s way pretty. FlameShock+Lavaburst for pure hurt.

Gnomeaggedon: What? Just one? I have multiple toolbars full of them.

Frostfire Bolt… Mmm the scent of fire with the crack of ice!

Living Bomb+Flame Strike + Blizzard… Mmmm Scrolling Combat Text make my PC hurt! The mobs don’t feel so good either…

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?

Gnomeaggedon: Easy… Anything beginning with Frost* or Arcane* there, that takes out 60% of the irrelevant Mage abilities. Basically if it doesn’t burn I don’t like it.

Squidly: Earth Shock… I know I should… But I don’t. Still, unlike the Gnome I don’t discriminate on school/spec

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?

Gnomeaggedon: Strudel, Portals, Heals, Tanking with a bit of DPS on the side.

Squidly: BUUUUFFS. Pick a group comp, any group comp. Pick an encounter any encounter. You need it, we got it! We can also heal on the side, but I’ll leave the tanking to the Mage.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

Gnomeaggedon: Apart from Health? We aren’t weak, we is killing machines!

Squidly: Threat. I can generate it plenty, on as many mobs as I want… But a partial dump on one target, on a cooldown?

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?

Gnomeaggedon: That’s a bit sexist isn’t it? I want a 24 girls + 1 Gnome environment. Mmmm Gnome Lurvin!

If I have to work for my place, then give me trash… Or a boss.

• Trash for instant gratification.
• Boss for the heart stopping frenzy of DoTs and Instant “I’m wiping that big evil grin off your face” Pyroblasts.

Squidly: Mmmm 15 man more or less. No raiding experiences to date, but lots of Battlegrounds.

Of course in that environment my role is more about killing the Horde via heals than DPS. Heal my mates, let them be the long arm of my DPS.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?

Gnomeaggedon: Fried Chickens – I loves me some extra Boomkin Crit ya in the face you wussbag of a boss!

Squidly: Anything that will take a hit, or over aggro me. For once I think I agree with short stuff. Fried Chicken tastes good!

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?

Gnomeaggedon & Squidly (In chorus): I don’t think they are a class, at least I have never found them at the character creation screen, but they are the NOOB and they have to have as many specs as there are classes X 3.

Many of them tell us they are experienced, so all I can do is feel sorry for all the lives they have ruined.

Luckily Cass put a disclaimer on this statement:

Or Mages. They’re so selfish about keeping Focus Magic to themselves. And they can out-DPS me so easily. That hurts.

Like this:

Gnome Mages and Gnome Death Knights are the exception. I can’t stay mad at something so cute.

Otherwise the answer would have been a whole lot more specific…

What is your worst habit as a dps?

Gnomeaggedon: picking my own target.

1. I can’t see over everyone’s head to target theirs and
2. By the time I have wound up my spell the bloody rogues have already bust the mob down.

This means I am always one boss ahead of the raid… and…

I need 10 tree Druids in the raid for Battle Rezs.

Squidly: DPSing as Resto and forgetting my tool bars are now set for heal rather than hurt.

I get great numbers on the healing meters, not so much on the damage meters.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

Gnomeaggedon: no one respects my tanking or healing abilities.

Squidly: Bosses and mobs that make the healers life hard. I want their healing love, so leave them alone!

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?

Squidly: Apparently we are awesome, so we must be.

Gnomeaggedon: Apparently I am awesome, so we must be.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a dps’er?

Gnomeaggedon: The oooohhhhs and aaaahhhhs from the crowd.

Squidly: am I alive? I must be better than the average goo standing DPS.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

Gnomeaggedon: that all we care about is our position on the meters… Obviously we care about the phat loot as well.

Ohhh, and that we can summon!

Warlocks have love in their hearts and summon you to be close.

Mages port you to the opposite side of the world.

Squidly: that cause I am a Shaman I can take a few hits… Which I could if I wore mail, but why roll on mail when I can pinch cloth and leather for my offspec?

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?

Gnomeaggedon: DPS doesn’t matter. Damage does, while means staying alive, which in turn means many of our utility spells are as much, if not more, important.

Squidly: totems. Which totems, when. Also that it’s all the other things that make a Shaman cool. Interrupts, buffs, debuffs.

Don’t worry so much about yourself, lift the team!

What DPS class do you feel you understand least?

Gnomeaggedon: Warriors… Why don’t they sink when they jump in the water?

Squidly: Mages, how can a class with so much Intellect be played by so many dumb people?

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?

Gnomeaggedon & Squidly: all of them!

We downloaded all of the WoWwiki macro pages and the entire Curse addon database and shoved it kicking and screaming into WoW.

• If you have more than 3 fps you arent trying hard enough.
• If you can actually see the mob you are meant to hit, your screen isn’t cluttered enough.
• If you know what is going to happen when you press that keybound macro you aren’t living on the edge.
• If your tool bars aren’t filled with ?, where is the fun in the game?

So basically every skill is macro’d and often more than one addon does the same thing… But at least when my whole screen if flashing I know to move out of the goo… Even if my fps won’t allow it.

What stat to stack, and why?

Gnomeaggedon: Beauty. If you aren’t beautiful, you won’t get a raid spot, which means you won’t get to do DPS.

Look at Jong and Megan, you think they get their raid spots based on ability?

When Jong rips the buttons off his shirt people stand up and oooohhhh aaaaahhhh.

He hasn’t even started DPSing yet!

Squidly: BEER! More Beer and a home delivery bottleshop.

If you can’t play your character when you are plastered you just can’t play!

This is the problem with PvE players. Everything is scripting and timing. Throw in a psuedo PvP encounter, or god forbid actual PvP and the players go to pieces…

But, but, it spoils my rotation! The training dummy didn’t fight back, it’s not fair that the mobs do!

See the human mind is a nasty piece of work. When you first learn your class you are flexible, you have to be because you can’t be sure when that spell will finish casting or when your cooldown will pop.

But in time, you can close your eyes, turn your back, play guitar hero with your toes and still put out theorycrafted DPS… Because you brain is now conditioned to know how long 2.3 hasted seconds are, where the ohh shit button is etc.

So that’s where beer cones in.

Drink till you can’t find the keyboard and you are trying to turn your character with your cell phone.

Then, only then, will you Starr to become a good player. You have absolutely no choice. It’s either perform, or go get another beer from the fridge!

BTW Blizzard, 1-30 seconds of BG reserect time is not long enough to go to the fridge, have a smoke and water the lemon tree… Please change this!

Ohhh you are a teetotaler?

Simple solutions:
1. Start drinking
2. Keep drinking
3. Last resort, change your keybindibgs before every raid, before every boss if it’s becoming too easy. It’s like drinking, but without the overflowing recycle bin and the empty bank account.

Gnomer and Out, Squidly and Stout! (Stout – that’s an alcoholic drink with more vitamins than your average 3 course meal… Great for breakfast as well!)

The End

Gnomeaggedon & Squidly: What, that’s it? We have only drink 1/2 a slab each… Give us more!

Gnomeaggedon: When the bloody he’ll are those uppity plate wearers going to invite me to write their Tanking questionnaire… More brains in their butts even with Arcane Brilliance!

Hey Kriz… Heard you were nearly unemployed… 50,011 words down hunh! About time you told us how awesome your Deeps is!

Larisa, Oi, come out of your cellar, tell how you do it!

Ummm, are there any other DPS bloggers out there that haven’t done this yet?

Well here’s your challenge, do it now, say I told you to, before someone else does it at my request.

Gnomer and Out, Squidlys crashed under the lemon tree… Ewww yuck!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/19/now-were-talking-dps/