Oh Alanis, you are NOT the malapropism queen!!

A malapropism is the substitution of an incorrect word for a word with a similar sound, usually to comic effect. Alanis has called herself the "Malapropism queen" (per wikipedia of course) because of the debate over her song "Ironic". Which, actually IS ironic. She says the song was meant to be light-hearted and not taken too serious. Which, I would say too if I made a song about sad stuff and dubbed it all ironic. I guess, that is the ironic part! She uses a definition that doesn't really define what she did, just like she made a song about something that it wasn't actually about. Isn't it Ironic? Don'cha think?

I mean, had she wrote a song actually about Irony but called it "Islamic", THEN she would be the Malapropism queen! Also, had she simply had some Irony expert come in she could have used their skills to alter some stuff. Such as "10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife", which is really annoying and sad, but not ironic. If you searched for a knife for years (thus, ruining your life and the life of those around you somehow) and then realized that the lucky spoon on your key chain (that you ALWAYS have with you) could cut anything as good as any knife...that would be ironic. Ok, it has a few holes, but it's far closer to truly ironic than simply having a crap ton of spoons when you need to cut a holiday ham.

You may be asking yourself "Holy crap Nomakk, how will you ever tie this into Warcraft!"

Easy, teh 133test of haXx! No, that doesn't mean simply building a bigger suit.

Also, no, you will never see a warrior able to carry two 2-handed weapons...trust me.

I really just wanted to talk about the Paradox we have right now. You know, the one
where all the BM hunters are now transitioning to survival! Who thought we would see the day. I admit, I really didn't (don't still) like the alteration of my beloved spec. I mean, not enough to not be survival. I talk a big game, but I never changed my specialization. I even spent 45g to re-build my survival spec (when it comes to leaving Survival, I'm all talk, so seriously Lienna, enough with the paper towels on my house, toilet paper was funny, but weighted paper towel rolls through the windows is crossing the line!)

I really do enjoy the life of a survival hunter. I also have a bond to my tree. One that has made me hybrid my build for arena, find ways to trap 2 or 3 things at a time and even write some crappy blog up!

I digress. The paradox! The paradox is this: Beast Master hunters are jumping ship to survival now. At first, I thought to myself: "Self, you are HOTT". After that I thought: "What traitors and fair weather hunters!". I suppose that second has some truth to it (the first one has enough truth to fill your soul with eternal joy, but that's for another blog entry) , but not as much as I initially thought.

To be honest, I had a few moment's where I forgot something vital to this whole Warcraft thing...it's a game. A game that should be enjoyed by any means you deem necessary! That being said, I do have to bring this Irony - paradox thing full circle, aye?

::deep breath::

Beast masters, I hope you enjoy survival, but let's all get one thing straight. You are indeed fair weather hunters. If you trade tree's to top the DPS chart, then you are saying "I am a hunter to top dps charts, that is my sole purpose." This is not necessarily a bad thing and I hope you enjoy it. The core issue is the talk of the BM community now. Saying:
"People won't let me raid as BM now!"
"Why would I be a spec that isn't the best"

So, BM hunters who played a build for it's glory and crazy raid DPS output (one I could beat in BC in most cases as full survival) are now saying they are switching to survival...to AVOID being the expected low dps hunter. Expected is the key word for one reason: Every build can be successful! If someone says otherwise, then they are a fool. Getting a 200 dps boost should not define what you do in the game (and neither should snooty a-holes for that matter).

So, let me get this straight; Survival is the build of choice for being the current flavor of the month. Therefore, the Survival population will flourish, but only because Beast Mastery isn't as good. BUT! It really is debatable (as opposed to proven fact), same as in BC. Think about how things were in BC. Survival was laughable, but if you were good at it and played it right, you could stand right next to a BM hunter in dps and probably do more for the raid overall. (i.e. BM good by default, survival good with dedication)

The flavor of the month may be sweet, but don't be fooled, it's not always the best flavor. I am fairly certain some people would say and believe that BM was HANDS DOWN BETTER for raiding in BC. As far as solo glory, maybe sometimes. As far as raid worth goes, Survival was just as good if not better.

So, the Irony is that Bm is jumping ship leaving their big red buddy behind to be survival, thus becoming who they were all along. So, as they look like they change and "sell-out" they in fact stayed the same. If they had stayed BM, they could have had the honor of really joining the Survival brotherhood. So, in jumping on the passing bandwagon, they really just stayed the same chart chasing hunter they have always been. It's not bad, it's just ironic that the flack is being passed on someone for not changing anything...by changing something to stay the same. Paradox circle completed!

/Dizzy

Ok, I think I'm going to hurt myself soon. I am just trying to say let's all enjoy our hunters for whatever reason. To be top dps by any means or because you feel a bond between you and your pet that no amount of dps can match. Me, I just like to scatter shot your face and then put you to sleep as I go back to picking flowers.

If I made grammatical errors...sue me, I'm tired!

Hunter...Gatherer?

Oh, that's right! I have had this beauty for a while now and it is fan - tastic! Not only does it catch all the delicious fish I could ever want, but it actually looks like it means business. I am pretty sure I could catch touchdowns with this thing. I have also considered trying to catch him if I can!! (Note: This is Nomakk's first picture on my blog! Finally, blogging from da casa!)

Seriously though, that fishing pole has made me the Night Elf I am today. Is it just me, or does traveling in different area's with your fishing pole, natural herb insight (:wink:) and good ole fashioned kitty cat killin' machine...well, have the feeling of "this is what it is to be a hunter". Call me crazy, but I like filling my bags with tons of fish, herbs and things the old kitty brings back to me. Just the satisfaction of doing something outside of the straight grind to the next level. I feel like I am really playing the craft when I am gathering all kinds of goodies and just kind of wandering aimlessly in the wild.

Some of my favorite places currently are Grizzly Hills and Sholazar Basin. Nothing like beautiful surroundings and countless fish filled waters. Besides, Sadie would get sick of eating the same fish endlessly...she doesn't play that.

The Mastercraft Kalu'ak fishing pole is actually an easier grind than most factions. Grant it, it will take some time, it's not a hard time. The time is actually pretty simple (albeit repetitive). As always, wowhead has all you need to get this faction mastered! There are three daily quests that I repeated to get this Pole in my possession.

- Planning for the Future - Gather 12 Pup's for this one. Yes, you can grab them while in combat and yes, the horde will try to ninja these while you are getting constantly dazed. Be a hunter! Feign Death! Yay! Be cautious, a big nasty elite roams the area! (those feeling like a challenge, try this elite out! closer you are to 70 the bigger the challenge!)

- Preparing for the worst - Gather supplies from the crates nearby. They are on a very short re-spawn and I have never had an issue getting my crates in less than 5 minutes (usually less than 2). These require a gather cast time and there are big green jerks ready to attack to use good old huntery tricks if needed!

- The way to his heart - This one is interesting. You get a net for fish catchin'. Head southeast, find a school in the watery goodness. Now, it takes 6 or 7 fish to get a bull to the other side of the pass. Trick! Simply attack a bull without killing it and drag it to the other side without losing agro. Once you get to the other side, get near a cow and toss the fish to the bull! One fish, done.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing epic!

Comments = blog post

I was typing a response to Lienna and Kordwar and realized it was enough for a decent blog entry, so here it is!

@ Lienna - I have thought of using volley too, but when you do, your shot rotation stops and in my opinion you hurt your dps. Explosive shot allowed you to keep your shot rotation in full flow.

@ Kordwar (and Lienna really) - I agree that explosive shot breaking aoe can make it hard to use at times, but that is the beauty of being survival. If your group has to CC, then use arcane shot for that engagement.

Also, aoe tanking is stellar now compared to BC. Warriors, pallies and DK's are just amazing at aoe tanking (I don't see many bear tanks these days). I have not done a WotLK heroic yet, but I have not had to cc enough to see the splash of explosive shot being worth losing. Especially when we all know that a good smart hunter can cc away from the tank easily :)

I guess I am just disappointed to lose something I enjoyed so very much. Being THE aoe hunter build was just so appealing. For all I know, the Flame shot may hit hard enough to make it fun and still appealing. Im just still in the shock period right now. Really, it would be the same as the Retribution paladin's getting their Divine storm cut back to just hit a single target -or- a Druids Starfall being downgraded to a single target ability. Those would probably bother the moonkins and Ret pallies of the world.

I will probably get over it...I mean, what is more fun that 1500 agility, right?

Patch verdict: try marksman out

Amazing how much a week changes things! I usually try not to complain too much, but I have to say....this patch stinks in my opinion.

Explosive shot (new graphic pictured to the left): Ouch...and ouch again. Seriously....what is going on. I don't care how much the damage is increased, I LOVED the way this shot worked. Come on, aoe burst was it man! It was fun and it made survival unique and fun. Now we are just an arcane shot subbing, diluted spec of a hunter.

Yesterday, horde raided Ironforge and Stormwind...tell me something more fun than shooting a fire explosion into a concentrated group of horde? It shouldn't be called explosive shot anymore, it should be called flame shot and the tool tip should say "Does the same thing as arcane shot, just fire damage instead. Slightly more damage and way more mana to shoot.". The damage increase wont be worth it...tonight is the first night I will try out marksman.

Why does "Lock and Load" have a cooldown? The proc chance is 10% already, why does it need to be capped at 1 proc per 30s? If I am using rapid fire and my shot output is vastly increased, so should all of my proc's.

This is the first patch in...well, the first patch I can remember looking and saying "Wow, hunter really are getting the shaft." Whats with all the pet debuffs?? What, finally a BM hunter has a pet doing 40%+ of his damage and you nerf the pet? Come on! That is how it should be.

You are the Master of the beast! You train that pet to be a fine tuned killing machine. You invigorate one another and energize each other!

Blizzard Warrior: "Hey why are BM hunter pets hitting my warrior so hard in WSG?"
Blizzard Druid: "I dunno, let me mangle this guy for 3800 damage while in bear form then I will make sure we nerf them"
Blizzard Warrior: "Hey, could you remove my 15% hit penalty too, it's getting old missing with my pair of 2-handed weapons. Thanks!"

Blizzard Hunter #463: "Wait, you laying me off? Why?"
Blizzard Manager: "Look, you talk too much. We are all happy here and all you do is talk about hunter this and hunter that. Look, you got a cute pet, stop being so damn greedy! It's not ALL ABOUT YOU!"
Blizzard Hunter #463: "Does that mean Blizzard Warrior and Druid are fired too?"
Blizzard Manager: "Are you kidding? My kids play a sick Druid/Warrior arena team."

Yeah, So my mood isn't the best and yes, a level 77 druid mangled me for 3800 in bear form yesterday...I have 416 resilience and I am level 76. Maybe I will get lucky and my Fire shot will hit for 10k damage now!! Finally, let us all try to remember it's called fire shot now...explosive shot is that mythical shot we had in the past that actually exploded.

Happy patch day everyone!! (sorry if you weren't in the mood for a rant)

Time to survive!

So, I respec'd myself yesterday to survival! Now Lienna can stop throwing toilet paper in my front yard!

I have to say, having a tank with strong aoe control is amazing for the survival hunter. We had a Paladin tank and it was simply a blast! (Thanks Buck!) That being said, I did feel like I was contributing to my parties latency with all my explosions (had to look awesome as a melee character with fire always spraying around you, tell me Wowgirl!, was it like constant fireworks!?).

The adventure was shared with Surbuck, Delos and Caitles. We really flew threw our adventures with few hiccups. Nice smooth control and good times throughout.

I have to say, the damage potential of the survival hunter is very promising. I can see topping damage meters in raids not being out of the question. I mean, when a large chunk of your damage is from a spell type damage, you already have a head start. Not to mention that the Survival hunter critical strike rate is awesome.

I am truly enjoying the hunter as a whole lately. I do much prefer doing instances and hanging with friends, but I have found a subtle enjoyment rotating my pets in and out. It is true you can't really keep more than 2 pets at your same level, but that's not fun! So, I am leveling 4 at the same time. The constant change is doing two things for me. First, it's teaching me more and more about the 3 pet types (cunning, ferocity and tankmaster supreme).

Also, I really am still figuring out which pet will work in which scenario. It's exciting having pet uncertainty. Finding names is much harder though. I think I may have to use Petopia if I get to 80 and haven't named them all.

Another thing, I really like not "wasting" experience for my pet. You know, when your pet dings early in an instance, the rest of the xp would be better going to a different pet. So, all of my pets have enough cushion to run 2 or 3 instances without leveling. I am proud to say I haven't wasted a single bit of pet xp to date. That being said, I am level 76 with 3 level 74 pets (all partly into 75 though). So, who cares what makes sense, I love it!

Also, the loss of critical strike rating as I level has grown old. I mean, how can an Elf possibly forget how to hit someone in just the right spot simply by killing some bears, grabbing some Pelts and serving up some horde? Whatever...I am over it... :(

This should be One Among Many posts to come! Thanks for keeping me on the ball Multi-class friend! :P

Also, in case you haven't figured it out yet, 5 Paladins can do ANYTHING together! FYI.

Happy new year!

This picture is a great way to bring in the new year!

I have to say, I have been LAZY! The holidays usually bring crazy lazy days out of me...and I become a rhyme guru to boot!

So, lets see...

- My hunter is currently level 74 and beast mastery (is there any other way to level?). I must say I love Viper...very VERY much. Also, I love my gorilla. I have a few new pets coming soon, I will post pics if my brain allows me to remember.

- My Holy Paladin is now a Protection paladin! AOE-mazing? Yes! Especially in my holy pvp gear. I can tank and do amazing damage. It is a beautiful thing! I can;t tell you how much fun I have...and I am only level 72!

- My Draenei Death Knight is kind of puttering along. Level 60 and looks awesome, but I find myself too drawn to my main two characters to play them.

- UGh, I feel awful that my druid is only 66. He deserves better, but I cant help that my druid play time has been hurt by my Guitar Hero time :)

- Lastly, my first attempt at a mage is coming soon. Level 4 now, but plans are in the works for her...and she will be horde :O

I make a vow that my 2009 entries will be more consistent...and that is as solid as your new years resolutions :P