The mass CC from the Horde was insane.

It wasn’t CC you would find on a toolbar, it was mental CC.

Although, maybe the majority of my teammates had the A.I. of a trash mob.

The primary Horde CC consisted of 1 Pally healer, and 1 Prot warrior.

Wherever they were you would find a collection of 5 alliance players, or trash mobs as I like to think of them.

• Warrior ~100% health
• Pally ~ 100% health
• Trash mobs – 100% focused on the Warrior while he mowed them down.

I came across this duo a few times as I ran pointlessly around the BG wondering where 1/2 the team was.

Each time I found 1/2 the team engaged with this duo, I killed the Pally within 30 seconds, at which point they would make progress on the Warrior, until the Pally returned that is.

That duo was some of the best CC I have seen.

The 5 living, breathing, supposedly Humanly Intelligent (H.I.) trash mobs were worse than the worst bots I have seen.

What a waste of oxygen!

Just for the record, Warrior taunts aren’t meant to work on player characters, so use a little H.I. And switch to the healer, or hell, just ignore them both.

I’d rather an undergeared Bear futilely bashing a geared Resto Shaman (at least there are interrupts), than an underH.I. anybody hitting a tank while ignoring the heals.

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/27/as-smart-as-the-average-trash-mob/

While as a general rule I treat rogues like mosquitoes, slap randomly at the air and they pop their Cloak of Noob, there are times when I find myself reduced to inarticulate Rogue Rage myself.

I had two of those moments over the weekend in quick succession. In fact it was the proximity of the battles and the juxtaposition of their performance that has me still raging days later.

Act I

We enter Arathi Basin to find our team stacked with rogues… Seven of them, 7!

I’m not above using an unfair advantage and 7 rogues in AB is an unfair advantage.

The gates open, the rogues disappear, as they do, they are stealth after all.

The problem, it turns out, is that while masters of stealth, they were masters of not very much else.

Two of them stealthed at Gold Mine the whole time. They were active in BG chat so obviously not AFK, yet for the purposes of AB objectives, might as well have been. The others.. well I saw a couple defending the roads…

Rogues are born ninja cappers, I’m pretty sure that is the definition of a rogue somewhere on Blizzards website.

Sure they can be handy at guarding a node, but that just isn’t the best use for this BG resource.

If they were there to AFK bleed honor, then they might as well have stepped away from their keyboards. If they were there to get real honor, they could have joined in.

We lost that BG miserably and I admit I was mildly annoyed, but then we had the next BG.

Act II

Ahhh relief, we aren’t a team of AFKing rogues… thank god for…

Ohhh shit, the Horde has nine, 9 rogues!

Damn it, they had read Blizzard’s website, they were a nightmare.

Roving Rogues, in hunting packs of 2-3, they just dominated.

They didn’t need to ninja cap, they just sliced and diced us to minced meat.

• One rogue tapping ineffectually at your back is one thing.
• Two rogues slicing appropriately sized fillets is a pain.
• Three Rogues butchering you post haste is a insane.

Sap, Blind, Destroy

Sap, Blind, Destroy

Sap, Blind, Destroy

Sap, Blind, Destroy

That was the flow of the battle. I felt like Dr. Who hearing the 4 knocks.

I knew the outcome, there was little I could do but call out in BG chat

ST… rogues… ST gone… Stay away from the rogues.

But there was no escape from the Horde rogues.

They were playing their class, playing to win, playing to demoralize and humiliate.

I would have traded all of the Alliance rogues for one of the Horde rogues.

So after these BGs Warlocks have lost their top KoS position replaced by rogues. My list now goes like this.

1. Rogues – Alliance
2. Rogues – Horde
3. Warlocks (because it’s right to hate on Warlocks when you are a Mage)
4. Paladins (actually their death isn’t necessarily, but I want their buffs… I want their wings!)

Speaking of Warlocks.

I was speaking (well playing BGs) with Keredria over the weekend and she mentioned the resurgence of Warlock rerolls. I know we have gone from one inactive Warlock to 3 active ones recently (in a guild of about 10 active players). How about you guys?

edit: Cynwise tells us Warlocks are on the decline… mmm…

Luckily Bear is holding up the Mage end of the rerolls.

I had the honor of doing BGs with Keredria, Bear, Pugnacious Priest and a few of their guildies over the weekend.

Bear was concerned about his lack of resilience gear, I was just concerned that he was getting more killing blows than most of us.

Although there was that one Resto Shaman, even with both of us going all out we couldn’t get him below 50%.

It was fun.
It was an honor
It will be repeated.

Thanks to all of you that participated. I had a blast, it felt more like a single group of guildies than a muddled up conglomeration of 4 guilds.

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/26/rogues-a-study-in-frustration/

Hey Gnome, why are you hidden down there?

BigBearButt has given me the shaft and put out a blogger challenge.

Ohh, where he's looking for a juicy short story?

Yeah, slender hope I can write anything either considered short or even a story.

Gnome, you are the star of this blog!

You need to carry the torch for all of us us in this challenge!

Pffft, just because I'm vain, doesn't mean I can meet every challenge.

True, best to admit defeat now and pretend we never had this chat.

Screw him.. I wonder if he has admitted defeat yet?

Ohh.. BBB admit defeat?

Yeah, he's trying a Fire Mage...

and that Pyroblast kick is a #$%^&!

Let’s just see who admits defeat…

Damn him.. link to this post, no.. link to that post… bahhh

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/2012/03/21/defeat-a-short-story/

There I was just mucking about when Zwingli sends me a tweet.

A tweet that became this post with the assistance of Cynwise & Snack_Road.

I once saw Twitter referred to as a river. If you get to the river bank at the right time, you get to see the swans floating by. Get there at the wrong time and it’s nothing but debris floating by.

So, I have captured that moment in time, pasted it here for you to enjoy...

Zwing has recently been inspired by Cyn and I to dig deep in PvP, starting with a baby hunter.

So where do we stand on heirlooms?

Is their effect detrimental to learning the skills required for PvP?

What other options are available apart from Heirlooms?

What are the right levels to lock XP, or cease wearing heirlooms?

Is all fair in love and war (of the WoW variety)?

Should you enter BGs with the biggest stick you can get your hands on, twink your way through the levels, or just accept you will be as squishy or strong as you are at that point in time?

If heirlooms are allowed, should Rogues be allowed… should Rogues be allowed at all?

@zwinglisblog: @wowcynwise @Gnomeaggedon what is your view on heirlooms in pvp?

@wowcynwise: How do you mean?

@zwinglisblog: started my pvp toon on a server w/out my mains. So, he’s poor and squishy. (cc)

@zwinglisblog: (c) So, I’m tempted to have him on my main server, and use heirlooms to beef him up.

@Gnomeaggedon: use them! It’s hard to have level relevant PvP gear when leveling in BGs.

@zwinglisblog: kinda feels like an unfair advantage. But, maybe nothing in pvp is fair

@Gnomeaggedon: depends on your intention, if you are leveling, the time taken to get twink gear at each level is prob mispent

@Gnomeaggedon: so if you are leveling through having a few pieces that grow with you makes sense

@zwinglisblog: I’m not “just” leveling. I’m doing it to learn how to pvp on a hunter w/out being thrown in at lvl 85.

@wowcynwise: You *can* level via PvP without heirlooms. The early levels can be tough but it will even out if you gear up.

@wowcynwise: Nothing in PvP is fair. Use them. They last through the 60s. At 70 evaluate resil gear for your spec.

@wowcynwise: Periodically lock your XP and go run dungeons to get better gear.

@zwinglisblog: so, consensus is that heirlooms are a good thing – at least in beginning. Yes? At what lvls do you lock xp?

@wowcynwise: … heirlooms are good, but the best enchants are better.

@wowcynwise: Lock when you feel your gear is slipping behind. Don’t do it to PvP, try bottoms of brackets x0, x5.

@wowcynwise: Related: Disposable Heroes: How To Make Reusable Level 10 PvP Toons
Sabotaging the Enemy: the Ethics of Gear
 On the Heirloom Conundrum

@wowcynwise: Re: locking – The PvP Pause

@zwinglisblog: on a different character, I locked at 15…then ran a BG. Was scarred for 5 mos from the new hole I was ripped.

@wowcynwise: Don’t lock for PvP <; 20 unless you’re ready to play with the hardcore twinks. 1k health minimum.

@Gnomeaggedon: what Cyn says. He has more experience leveling through, certainly recently. Basically use what works – they will.

@wowcynwise: PvP *is* war. If gear helps you kill your opponent faster, get it.

@snack_road: “They send one of yours to the hospital, you send two of theirs to the morgue.”

@Gnomeaggedon: if BGs were honorable… Rogues would not be allowed to queue! Find a big stick, use a big stick.

@zwinglisblog: I’m working on a kickbutt lvl 10 toon tonight!

What do you think?

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/21/is-all-fair-in-love-and-war/

I blame Hyperious from Toys of Azeroth

One Furbolg Gnomeaggedon is great… 4 just leaves me speechless (yeah right…)

Mmm a Gnome and his toys…

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/17/mirror-furbolg/

So rogues… Where to begin…

I have one, it does PvE, and generally fails miserably, and/or dies within 20% of a boss…

In Eye of the Storm today, I had the pleasure of meeting a rogue, face to face (or ass to face as it were). I did the usual hunter thing.. trap, scatter shot, disengage and then hold him at range with concussive shot, and shot the crap outta him till he dies…

One happy hunter.

I happen to meet upon said rogue once more, as he was beating on a poor hapless priest. scatter shot, aimed shot… you know the drill. My priest friend (Dariaste) ran away, only to be harassed by another rogue. The rogue I was working, vanished, and I dropped the expected flare awaiting my backside to feel his daggers once more. Instead, I find the rogue has sprinted off to join his friend in taking out the priest. I was bemused by the fact that the rogue needed to leave me, to help his friend...

I mean, I’m only a hunter after all.

This, is the good, and embarrassing thing for rogues. One on one with a mediocre rogue, it’s hard to screw up. Now… when facing a decent rogue, or facing a mediocre rogue (or better) on a toon not really designed to deal with rogues… like say a Warlock that my wife plays by the name of Naysa, you have quite a bit of a different fight.

The fight goes something like this…

*pop stealth behind lock*
*cheap shot*
*Mutilate x3*
*kidney shot*
*mutilate x 3*
*eviscerate*
_Warlock Dead_

(Warlock has not moved from original place she was cheap shotted, nor gotten off any spells or defence… she’s just dead.)

Also, the warlock seems to scream every word in the English language (and some that aren’t) that are generally derogatory in nature at and about said rogue.

Now after that one fight, and apparently for the rest of the battle ground, that rogue, decided to pick on the Lock. so for the next 20 minutes, I heard screaming from the computer next to me, expletives and other obscenity. When I asked my wife if everything was ok and what was wrong, she looked at me deadpan,and muttered

I’m just suffering Rogue Rage, right!

After that god awful WoW session, and lock spanking, the wife and I retired to bed, my last words to her that night being “I love you, sweetheart”, and her response “stupid fu##ing rogues”.

One-Size-Fits-All BG Strat

I leave you all with a strat I have developed for PvPing across any BG’s

All go Green, get waterworks and docks, AOE on flags, protect the FC, Cleanse demos, get LM, fight on the nodes, jump over barrels, zerg Drek, save the princess, and for god’s sake, someone please find waldo… Also, Kill the stupid FU##ING ROGUE!

~ Phlanker ~

So there you have it, the 1st guest post from Phlanker (with I’m sure some constructive input from Naysa).

For the record, that strategy that Phlanker describes… that is not just the strategy he plays by, but is often the strategy he pops into BG chat as the game begins.

We know it’s a good thing for a strong leader to take control before the gates even open, and Phlanks is not just strong, but he is wise.  For he is the owner of this macro:

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/16/rogue-raging/

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

Ahhh BGs can be fun with a bunch of Rogues about

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckity…. Arrrrgghhhhh

fuckityfuckityfuckityfuckityRogues!

All credit for this post goes to Naysa…

She’s only new to WoW, and to BGs.. but she learns fast.

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/15/rogue-rage/

So Cynwise & I have covered how to Ninja a node, now is the time to introduce, or refresh you in the A.B.C.’s of guarding a node

We all know our A.B.C.’s right…

They are…

A… B… C… blah, blah, blah… Next time won’t you sing with me?

Sorry I’ve been hearing that a lot over the last few years and I tend to zone out after C… I am going to assume you will do the same.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A is for AoE

I can’t remember if I mentioned AOE in my Ninja post, well without the prerequisite expletive attached, not only in my blog posts, but also in BG chat.

AoE’s serve two purposes, both with the same end – to protect the flag.

Preventative

AoE on the flag node prior to the appearance of a known threat.

• Magma totems
• Hunters traps
• Consecration
• Arcane Explosion, Blizzard
• The list goes on and on.

The purpose is two fold:

1. Flush out the stealthy
2. Interrupt the cap

Try not to get caught mid cast/channel with a “counterspell”, but that’s still better than being surprised.

In many ways Magma totem is the granddaddy of preventative AOE.

1. It’s cast and “forget”
2. It flushes stealthies and interrupts capping
3. It’s premature disappearance is a sign of things to come – Ninjas!
4. It’s ranged, in the sense that a Shaman can drop it on the flag, then get appropriate a guarding position.

If you see a shaman at a node without a Magna totem on the flag, slap them for me, well gently prod them into placing one.

Reactive

In the fog of war, it’s difficult to detect the Gnomeaggedons in the mists.

• Most Rogues know to fan of knives the flag when it’s under pressure.
• Most Mages know to Blizzard just the same.
• Most Healers know to heal the AOE dealers as a 1st priority.
• Most know, many of us forget on occasions.

We see BG chat up with

Watch the flag!

But we have that Pally at 5% and Pallies are everyone’s KoS 2nd place… mongrels always pop back to 100% though and the flag gets capped.

It is everyone’s responsibility, DPS, Healers, Pets, Your Mum, to AOE the flag – don’t just watch it, AOE it!

When you hear “Smoke Bomb”… You do hear it don’t you… You are running a vocalized DBM type mod like GladiatorlosSA aren’t you?

Anyway, when you hear “Smoke Bomb“, you know there is a Ninja in action. Direct damage, unless delivered from within the cloud is useless.

The only counter to a Smoke Bomb is AOE and most casters can deliver AOE from range. Blizzard the living crap out of that flag.

Watch the rogue. He’ll try once, he’ll try twice, he’ll try 3 times before he accepts that his Smoke Bomb has been countered.

I normally laugh when warriors do their whirly-whirly, unless I am capping a flag, then it’s SRS BNZ.

Find your AOE skills languishing in your spell books… at the very least put them on a toolbar, preferably keybind them and practice their use.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

B is for Be.

It could also be for guarding the Bees, but it definitely not for Bonza Bludging Beer-gutted Bonkers Beautiful Boisterous (occasionally) Bashful Brilliant Behemoth Big Bear Butt

Although admittedly he could do all these things in a BG.

Be Aware

Do you drive a car?

Do you just stare straight ahead, or are you constantly scanning… left, right, back, front, back left, front left, front right, back right, up, down, turn around…

From now on, when you are guarding a node, I want you to make car noises… putt putt putt, Brrwaaah, RRRRWAR, Ziiiinnnngggg…

Whatever sound you want your car to be…

Make it…

Go on…

Did you? What did your Vent mates think? Ahh screw ‘em… We know what we are doing.

So from now on you will drive your node, always aware of your environment, the mini-map, the mini-zone map (Shift-M)

… and make those car noises so you don’t forget and you drive people bonkers…

Be visible

While its nice to ambush attackers, you are better off deterring them. Remember as good as HKs are, your objective is resources from unchallenged nodes.

There needs to be at least one visible guard. If that guard has pets (even non-combat pets will change your enemies tooltip on mouse over ), if they are rushing, the may assume each change of the tool tip is another guard.

Do you have picnic umbrellas?

Set one up at the node. I have two, so I set up both. They are an bold indication of physical presence, while obscuring visual line of sight.

Let’s face it, who would set up a love umbrella just to sit by themselves? What, why are you pointing at me?

Be warned – they can also act as a non-binding taunt to players… but you were getting bored guarding the bees anyway.

You can also use cooking fires. The stealthy that sees multiple cooking fires will assume multiple stealthed defenders.

Be close, but not too close.

Cynwise has covered this already, better than I can, but just to reinforce this, imagine these two scenarios…

1) Hump-guarding the flag

A rogue approaches, saps and starts to cap. Each action smooth, instant and you know you have to stop him… So you trinket.

You just fell for Ninja Rogue trick 101… He will now blind you, your trinket is on cool down, ALL YOUR BASES ARE HIS!

2) Spitting distance from the flag

You are in love-tap range of the flag, but not on it.

A rogue approaches, saps and… Ohh damn, now they have to waste precious seconds running to the flag, they may even pointlessly blow their sprint cooldown… then start capping…

and the sap expires…

Love tap to stop the cap!

The rogue is pretty much screwed now.

The element of surprise has gone. You had plenty of time while sapped to call the inc.

They have to choose…

Persevere through the love taps – wont work, but they will still try 3 times, or
Run over to you to apply more CC and try again.

They are screwed both ways and we all love seeing rogues get screwed both ways.

You are now in control of the node again, they will preparation, cloak, vanish… knowing you have the counter to their Ninja… I think that makes you Samurai!

Be Supportive – buffs!

One thing you can do while guarding the node. You may not have died, you may still have the complete set of buffs, but most likely your team mates don’t.

Throw out your buffs occasionally, especially when you see rezzers run by. What else were you using your mana for, go on, give your team whatever advantage you can.

Apart from Arcane Intellect, I always throw a macro’d Slowfall on rezzers when they pass me at Lumber Mill.

It’s macro’d to whisper the recipient, to make sure they know they have it. I don’t know what UI they have and the ping of a /whisper draws their attention and increases their options.

Be Supportive – don’t debuff!

Unlike many of your teammates you are in a great position to analyze troop movements, yours and theirs.

Your team mates are focused on surviving, managing health and mana, managing cooldowns, they are by necessity micromanaging without the whole-of-BG view.

Just because you can see, doesn’t mean you understand. How many times have you heard:

1. WTF are you all doing at Stables?
2. How the fuck did they cap the node with 14 of you there?
3. Stop fighting on the fucking road you noobs!
4. Stop trying to solo nodes!
5. Thanks for the lack of help noobs, I called it and you didn’t come!

Backseat drivers… everyfuckingbody hates them.

Maybe the reasons are:

1. We got wiped and just rezzed at Stables.
2. A good question, but some teams CC and confuse. Ultimately our hope is we can achieve the same result.
3. I got ambushed on the road – or I’m preventing them getting to your node… 1 of me, 4 of them.
4. A ninja cap can turn a game, not just earning points, but stopping rezzes and maybe splitting that mob creating trouble elsewhere. Ninja paranoia can tie multiple people at a node.
5. Maybe, just maybe we were busy, or ambushed, or CC’d by a painful Frost Mage.

Backseat drivers only help when they are supportive, alerting about unknown threats. Otherwise, shut the fuck up!

Be Patient

Guarding the Bees is the pits.

It’s boring, you will probably end up at the bottom of the BG table, below the guy that joined 1 minute before the game ended.

From your position you can see people screaming in agony while you play bejeweled. It itches in the back in your mind, all they need is one more body, this base will be fine, it’s obvious all the enemy are out there not drinking cups of tea with you.

You need to be patient.

You need to resist the urge to “help”.

You are currently performing the best, the most important role you can. You are ensuring the points keep ticking away, that the friendly respawns keep coming. You are ensuring the enemy doesn’t race away on points while the others struggle at the nodes (and remember, they are probably dying, and you don’t want to die).

An unguarded node is a free gift, possibly a free win to your opponent. The only thing worse than a node being ninja capped from under you is leaving the node abandoned for your opponents.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

C is for Cat – Der!

Ok, so C is really for Cat, but in relation to this post C is for Calling Incs.

Your node

In sure you don’t need to be told to call incs to the node you are on, and early, as soon as you see then turn down your branch of the road of possible, but…

CALL INCS TO YOUR NODE AS SOON AS YOU SEE THEM, EVEN IF THEY ARE JUST TURNING ONTO YOUR BRANCH OF THE ROAD!

If you think there is a stealthy at your node – Say so now, not when you are sapped & capped.

By calling early you give your team mates the opportunity to travel in parallel to the enemy, maybe arriving at the same time as them, maybe scaring them off when they see the support already on the way before they reach the node.

What the 1st thing you think of when nodes are supported super quick?

PREMADE!

But often it isn’t, it’s just observant people with early calls enabling them to control the node while you straggle in to die.

Hunter or Druid stealthed, maybe waiting for an opportunity to ninja? Call all the movements you can see on your mini map, especially the stealthies rushing unstealthed to a node.

Their node

Calling incomings to nodes they control allows those on the battlefield to make decisions about which node to hit next, as well as giving some indication of the next node in their plan.

On the road

Where are your opponents on the road, which way are they heading, what the hell are they up to… supporting, attacking, retreating… let people know!

Joining the fight.

Telling your fighters who is about to join a battle is important. Sometimes your abilities come off cooldown and you think…

Last one… I’m going to destroy them

Only to discover 3 of their mates rolling in.

3 more that your blown cooldowns are required for.

Getting the heads up on the troop movements can make or break node defense.

Keeping your eyes on the prize

Whatever you do while you recite your ABCs, whether you are calling troop movements, slowfalling your team mates for a soft landing, scanning the sky, even having a picnic, there is one thing you never want your eyes off for more than 2 seconds.

YOUR FLAG!

Drive your node safely from beginning to end. The road is filled with many distractions, but until you can keep your node safe, there is little point in lusting after theirs.

Now altogether…

Slap a Shaman today…

Love tap to stop the cap!

Make those car noise and…

A… B… C… blah, blah, blah… Next time won’t you sing with me?

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/09/a-b-c-s-of-guarding-a-node/

Mmmm.. I smell a Mage Ninja opportunity...

Cynwise taught you the basics of being a flag ninja.

Am I that far behind... really?

On a side note… I looked at my feed reader and there are 117 posts for Cynwise. I’m hoping this is a result of blog consolidation and not my slackness… although there is no question I am way behind.

Anyway, back on topic, after he posted, we discussed on Twitter how easy it is to fall into the “grand scheme” strategy of BGs and miss the smaller tactical details.

So if he can take it down to the detail of being a Flag Ninja, I can take it down one step further (I’m a Gnome, it doesn’t go down much more than that), to being a Flag Ninja: Mage Style.

This post is also for non-Mages, you need to understand your enemies intent.

Requirements

Required: Mage (any spec, any size)
Toolkit: Slowfall, Invisibility, Ring of Frost, Mirror Image.
Skill Level: 0
Optional: Sacrificial Lamb

Invisibility Cap

Took this one from under his nose.. a Mage should know better!

This one is pretty simple, pop Invisibility while approaching the flag, preferably while you are shielded, either by a larger group or some other Line of Sight obstacle like a building.

If you have your optional sacrificial lamb with you can sometimes get away with being seen initially so long as your sacrificial lamb grabs their attention and they have short term memory issues.

Inhale.

Go up to the flag. Hump the flag. Become one with the flag.

Exhale.

Watch the defenders. Are their avatars looking in a different direction? (no this is no guarantee that the player is or will continue to look in the other direction, but it’s the best indicator you have).

Check their graveyard to make sure respawns aren’t about to run towards you (or anyone else for that matter)

Check your buff timer, you don’t have to act until you become visible, so breath, be patient…

Cap!

50% of the time you will cap even if you are standing on top of an enemy avatar.

No one expects the Dalaran Illusion!

Usable in: Battle for Gilneas or Arathi Basin

Battle for Gilneas

Mine: From the ship, or back path from Water Works (you can almost make it from the hill from Lighthouse)

Lighthouse: Invisibility as you approach the top of the hill on the way from Mines, or as you run through the trees from Water Works.

Water Works: Behind the buildings or from the water.

Arathi Basin

ST: come from the water, behind the ST, from Trollbane Hall… just come invisible.

LM: go invisible as you get 80% of the way up the hill, or ride around the back of the Mill as if you are chicken, pop invisibility and double back.

BS: from the water, GM, behind the BS.

Farm: from the water and behind the farm building.

GM: from within the mine (lead them in, invisibility, backtrack, cap) or the sky… which brings us to…

Slowfall Invisibility Cap

INCOMING! Ohh you can't see me... Ahh well, you will know soon enough

I won’t explain the Invisibility part again. I can’t be stuffed copy & pasting and you would just gloss over it, so onto the Slowfall bit.

Everyone knows about slowfalling from LM to BS, even from BS to mine. If you are guarding either of these nodes and not also watching the sky, well you deserve to lose the node.

I will however, forgive you if you don’t see the invisible ninja floating in from above.

Mount up with slowfall people.. damn it.

This works for any node you can Slowfall towards… BS, GM, ST and Farm. Once I work out how to Slowfall to LM, I will include it and let you know.

Keep your eyes on the ramp... nothing to see up here...

Simply get in position to not waste Slowfall time (close enough to an edge), buff up, Slowfall on, mount up, ride, jump, pop invisibility, then follow the steps above.

Plenty of time for a lazy invisible stroll to the flag

Sure you won’t make it to ST or Farm in one jump, but you will get there on foot while your invisibility is still in effect. Start from the top of the cliff above the paths.

For me? You are too generous!

When you get there… well, I’m sure you will know what to do right…

Oh good... a water elemental wont look out of place

You will probably overshoot the GM flag, this is good as the defenders will approach the cliff to AoE you out of stealth.

Ninja left, sacrificial lamb right, flag = mine!

If you have a sacrificial lamb, or worst case a PuG you can chat to, set up a ninja as described by Cynwise – get them to fall wide of the flag (bloody noob – going to kill that one), or stop short of the node (on the way to ST or Farm), so guard’s attention is on the visible target.

The beauty of Slowfall-Invisibility is that in stressful situations the mind plays tricks on us and we discount correct observations because they are not supported on a second look.

With the pressure of scanning every horizon, even if they do notice you launch yourself off the cliff out of the corner of their eye, when they look back, there is nothing there.

We’ve all heard the term Jumping at Mages right?

Remember it is human nature NOT to look up (don’t ever place important signs above eye height, they are wasted) and even if a defender does, they will doubt what is quite obviously not there.

No one expects the Dalaran Illusion!

Ring of Frost Cap

Mists of Gnomeaggedon

The problem with the current incarnation of Ring of Frost is that it takes a few seconds to come into effect (apparently this is changing in MoP).

The good things about the current incarnation of Ring of Frost are that:

1. It’s instant cast (apparently this is changing in MoP), and
2. it is instantly a big ring of mist, partially obscuring vision.

You can use this technique at any time, even when the heat of battle is on the flag itself. As long as there is no AoE, you are good to go. (This is a damn good reason to AoE the flag when defending).

It takes a little practice, but place your Ring of Frost so that one edge is close enough to stand in and cap. That isn’t necessarily directly on the flag, just close enough to cap.

Move into the mist.

Friendly, hostile, it's all covering mist to me

What Mage? I don’t see a Mage!

Sure it isn’t as good as a Rogue’s smoke bomb… but we all know a rogue’s smoke bomb is the precursor to a Ninja Cap & hopefully the AoE rolls in.

Not a smoke bomb you need to get into, it’s a Ring of Frost, something to be avoided…

Step away from the Ring of Frost, step away… There is a Mage in Ninja mode.

Use this anywhere any time.

Use it to cover your Ninja Cap.

Use it to cover someone else’s Ninja Cap.

No one expects the Dalaran Illusion!

Ring of Frost Mirror Image Cap

Time to release the Ninjas... I mean Mirror Ninjas... Argh... Mirror Images

Sometimes the Ring of Frost just isn’t enough. That damn Hunter saw you sidle up to the flag. That damn pet is all over you like it wants a new owner.

Sometimes people see through the mists and in those times you need to up the illusion ante.

Drop your Ring of Frost as described above, then pop your little boys… Ohh that’s what I call them, you pop your mirror images.

As soon as you do that, all your opponents lose you as a target including as a focus target. At that point the Mirror Images assume your threat against NPCs… pets and minions anyone?

Now there are 4 of you, obscured in the mists and 3 of you are casting.

Which ones do you thing the average player is going to attack? I mean you are obviously blowing cooldowns going for the kill, so kill the ones that shooting FFS!

Except… the real danger is the obscured Mage doing not very much… except stealing the flag.

I will give credit to my Guildy Tickk for teaching me this one. God help your enemy that don’t remember the first rule of flag guarding… AoE, AoE, AoE when you have 2 Mages in that ring of frost, . They are so spoiled for choice of targets that they won’t even know the flag has been capped until they Rez at a different node.

Slowfall Invisibility Ring of Frost Mirror Image Cap

No wonder I found Resilient Victory hard... ALL YOUR BASES ARE MINE!

I never played consoles much, but I hear combos are deadly.

This is the Ninja Mage’s killer flag capping combo (NMKFCC… nah that wont catch on).

Surprise
Surprise and Obscurity
Surprise, Obscurity and Illusion.
No one expects the Dalaran Illusion!

The beauty of it is, you just add the steps a required.

1. Sprung capping? Ring of Frost
2. Focused in your Ring of Frost? Mirror Image.
3. Targeted in you Ninja Capping, Ring of Frost and your Mirror Images are ignored? Kill the fuckers… Your Mirror Images are already out and that’s why your rolled a Mage right?

When you aren’t the only Ninja in a Node.

You’ve blown your Invisibility cooldown, your approaching the flag and then you notice the little orange or yellow dot on your mini map.

What do you do?

You use your invisibility to convince the enemy you are a failed Ninja.

Whisper the stealthy to cap when you become visible.

Stay away from the flag, and just as your invisibility is about to expire, start moving in.

Make sure you get their attention.

Act surprised and disappointed that you are a failed Ninja, you are now the bait – get and keep their attention.

They will be so proud that they uncovered the Ninja they won’t notice the real Ninja Capper.

Ohh and spare an Ice Lance for that Shaman’s Magma Totem!

Always spare a love tap, no matter what class you are, for the Shaman’s Magma Totem – it’s free flag AoE.. bad enough that the Shaman is probably healing, but AoE’ing the flag without thought…

1 totem love tap – free to Ninja Cap!

Defense Against the Magely Arts

As Cynwise mentioned in his post, even the most experienced flag guardian will take their eyes off the sky, be taunted by easy targets. Some will even get taunted by meaningless emotes.

What you need to remember when guarding a node is to trust your instincts, trust that brief glimpse of a floating Mage, trust that the Ring of Frost isn’t empty, understand you are targeting the wrong Mage, and…

AoE the fucking flag!

Coming Back from a Loss!

At the end of a win last night, a clever PuG complimented us on coming back from a loss.

You don’t come back from a loss.

A loss is a loss is a loss.

Don’t lose… come back from behind!

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/08/flag-ninja-mage-style/

Do me a favor & check over my maths please, we’ll come back to this, so remember your 1st impression.

This is a post about many things, arguably everything, but I guess I will make a feeble attempt to relate it to topics this blog has covered in the past.

A couple of days ago I attended a seminar on men’s health put on by the organisation I work for. It was a couple of fun filled hours touching on many aspects of men’s health, including the topic of depression which I am all too familiar with, but it was more like visiting a comedy club for a couple of hours.

One of the exercises he threw at us was the math above.

What did you see when you looked at those sums?

Let me put this another way.

1. Loving family
2. Reasonable marks at school/University
3. The odd sporting achievement
4. A group of solid friends
5. A good job with good performance reviews
6. I’m a loser

What did you see when you looked at these points?

Or another way.

1. Good group of guildies – some of whom I call friends.
2. Ability to choose any character, class and faction of my choice
3. Server uptime of 96.5% (on a maintenance week, otherwise 99.99%)
4. Many options of playstyles, activities and rewards
5. A new expansion every 18 months, new content every few months.
6. Paladins are overpowered.

WoW sucks doesn’t it?

Of course that would depend on how you read each of those lists.

5 out of 6 doesn’t make a right

When you looked at my math, what was it you noticed, what stuck with you?

Was it that the last sum was wrong?

or

Was it that the first five were correct?

I’m software tester by trade, I find my perspective often gets twisted so I am looking for the 6th calculation. I am looking to find fault in the work of others, when in reality, my job is to confirm the correctness of their work.

Oh sure, I wouldn’t want to let the 6th calculation into production, but then neither does the developer.  The developer is relying on me to prove that the code works under normal conditions, not that it fails, because you know a developer takes and error or bug as a mortal wound.

I realised that when I tested the software given to me, I all too rarely report on the excellent quality work delivered to me.

I realised that when the developer sees me approaching, their heart sinks and the prepare for the bad news.

Even when it is bad news, I rarely present it in the fashion of…

Your code passed 5 out of the 6 test steps in this early stage of testing and with a quick fix, we will be 6/6 or 100% good to go!

No, I approach the developer with my hand crafted NEW BUILD! sign in my hand.

Of course life is good, from your perspective!

What about when you looked through my “life story” summary?

I’m going to guess, unless you relate to the complete table, that you crossed out the last point automatically.

Just for the record, that list is similar to the one that saved my life some 14 years back. I did an exercise from the book I’m Ok, you’re Ok by Thomas Harris, where you list out your successes to get some perspective, something that is desperately missing when you are suffering from depression.It not only gave me perspective, it allowed me to realize that something was wrong, something that could be treated.

If you aren’t one that ignored the first five points, it can be hard to appreciate that someone can invalidate those 5 positive points with one (quite likely) baseless point.

If you honed in on point 6, give your family doctor a call, or utilize the many resources out there these days that will help you see the first 5 points. (U.S.A., U.K., Australia)

If you know someone that ignores the first 5 points and lives by the sixth, talk with them… NO, listen to them without providing solutions, without interruptions, without your view of the first five points.

Then encourage them to seek help, better yet, make the 1st appointment for them, with them.

WoW sucks!

What about my last example?

I know it’s hard, but f you play a Pally, you need to image that 6 is a bad thing.. it is a bad think kk?

Is your WoW filled with amazement that so much can be provided for so many for so long?

Or is it WoW filled with bugs, class imbalance and downtime?

If its the 1st, then that may explain why you play WoW, your perspective is good, keep enjoying the game!

If its the 2nd, then WoW may not be the game for you, but then there may be no game for you.

Just remember that many other people can put that bad 6th point in perspective and enjoy the game for all that is good in the game.

As it is in WoW, it is in life.

Try to get perspective.

When the things in WoW, or life are getting you down, draw up a list of all those things that shit you to tears, then draw up a list of all those things in the situation that bring you joy.

If the bad still outweighs the good, then something needs to change, you need to change. Life is meant to be a long list of good, not a long list of bad.

Is it really worth expending all that energy bitching about the bad, dragging down yourself and your loved ones to meet your level of despair, when a little perspective could turn your day, your life, around?

All that time spent around the water cooler, colluding with your peers about all that is wrong, when the “all that is wrong” is just a small percentage of all that is right. Often the things that are wrong can be swept away with perspective, and if not, the right perspective will allow you to tackle them head on, so those molehills are no longer mountains.

Sometimes, just sometimes, all it really takes is to understand that it isn’t all about you.

May the math be with you!

Gnomer and Out!

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

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/03/07/perspectives/