Pixelated Executioner

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Q & A

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Some folks have asked me a few questions through various mediums such as email and Twitter and whatnot, so I thought I'd go ahead and answer them here. That way, anyone else who has the same questions won't have to ask.

Why didn't you cover races and their racial benefits?

Because I encourage people to play the race that feels most comfortable to them. For instance, the first Lelissa was actually a Night Elf. I managed to get her to level 20 before deciding that I didn't really like the way the character played. Sure, it was just like every other Warrior in terms of abilities, but something never felt right. When Burning Crusade released, the Draenei seemed to fit a little better. I enjoyed the class more when I felt more attached to the character behind it. (Insert LOLRP jokes here.)

What professions should I take?

Honestly, you really can't go wrong with any of them, except maybe tailoring. Lelissa is a blacksmith and jewelcrafter, for the extra sockets and crafter-specific gems. It works out pretty well, especially when you consider her Belt of the Titan has three sockets (after an added buckle), and each one totes a +34 strength gem.

So what should I gem for?

That depends on your gear, and on you. If you're not hit-capped, you'll need hit gems until you are. If you're not expertise-capped, you'll need expertise until you are. If you're following the Elitist Jerks model of Arms DPS, you'll want Armor Penetration gems. If you're more like me, you'll go for strength. If you're not specialized for poleaxe, you might want enough crit to get you to 30% or so.

Will I lead the DPS meters?

Not likely.

But if I'm not leading the meter, why be Arms?

Arms DPS is about more than putting out huge numbers. I'm sure Lelissa (with a little bit better optimized gear) could crank out around 5k without too much trouble (she easily breaks 4k now), but her real value is in providing a damage boost to the physical damage dealers in the raid, improving their overall output.

On top of that, once a boss hits 20%, if your crit rate is good and you've got the same spec I do, you can Execute until it dies. I'd call that a win.

Will you ever talk about the Best-In-Slot items for Arms?

I doubt it. There's too much math and theorycrafting behind that sort of thing. My goal for this game is to make it fun, not a second job.

Sure, I've made posts in the past about DPS tests on Armor Penetration gems vs. Strength gems and about testing priority lists, and the benefits of Mortal Strike vs. Execute. The thing is, those are things that impact my class and spec choice consistently. Best In Slot isn't a necessary thing to play the game - it's only if you want to squeeze every last bit of DPS out of a spec that you can, and from what I've seen, it's never this huge margin of difference.

What else is on the list for what you're working on?

Well, I know it's a little far behind, but I'm planning on covering boss fights for both Ulduar and ToC. I'm also in the process of trying to transplant the blog to a self-host, but having a bit of trouble with the CSS, so it's delayed; on the other hand, the awesome Baenhoof will be gracing the new page with all kinds of kickass art (which I'm really looking forward to), so once I can get the CSS done (or better, find someone who can do it for cheap - I suck at CSS for WordPress), we'll be well underway.

I've also been talking with the Mighty Nibuca about another project to make an appearance on... it sounds pretty interesting, and I think I'm going to participate. Details are still kinda vague, but when I know what's up, you'll know what's up.

On a non-WoW note, I've started running a 4th Edition D&D game. I'll be writing a blog to track that game, and it will update once every other week. I'll make a post about it, so if you're interested in seeing the shenanigans of my friends, keep an eye out for it. It'll be fun.

Damn It All.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:19:00 +0000

I HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO!

Moving this week, so I apologize for lack of posts. Between trying to get everything set up for a seamless move, still maintain my raid schedule, bringing home projects for work, working on projects for the D&D game I'm getting ready to run in a week, making plans for The Great Blog Transition of '09, and a whole mess of other things, I have officially:

Missed out on NaNoWriMo this month.
Missed starting the Uldu-Arms series of posts.
Missed Friday Fiction.
Found a hundred other things to do before my mother comes to visit this weekend IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MOVE.
Realized that there is no way to get my couch out of my apartment without killing myself and at least two good friends.
Lost (what was left of) my sanity.

So, another hiatus, close on the heels of the other one. I promise it won't last as long.

On the bright side, I bought the Lil' KT and Pandaren Monk. They gave me something to smile about for a bit.

Friday Fiction - Wounds and Healing, Part 2 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:47:00 +0000

I know. It's late. Sorry!

In case you missed it, here's Part 1.

Lelissa dove behind a broken pillar, taking cover from an onslaught of dark energy rolling through the room. The ground trembled in this fallen cathedral as the rage of an Old God, once imprisoned beyond time but now free once more on Azeroth, shook Ulduar to its very foundations. Parts of the ceiling cracked and fell away, stained glass shattering and spilling out onto the floor as Yogg-Saron vented his hate upon the team who had hurt him so badly. A slight movement at the corner of her vision caused her to look up, prepared for the worst. Quillion, a Kaldorei hunter and her longtime friend and ally, rushed across the open space toward her as the wave of power ended, sliding in next to her. His eyes were wide with adrenaline and a little madness: the battle against this foe was taking its toll on all of them.

"I think we need a better plan, Quill."

Quillion murmured agreement, shaking his head in disbelief. "It was the best I had, though. I'm all out of tricks, and I don't know how much everyone has left to give." Quillion leaned slightly, peeking around the corner, surveying the room and the creature it was designed to imprison. His eyes briefly sought out the best that Purgatory had to offer, taking stock; no dead, many wounded, and all a little less sane. "Purgatory, form up! We've got to take back control of this fight!"

Hearing his call, the small squadron began to work their way toward each other, fighting every step of the way to get back to a defensible position. As they gathered together, a druid and paladin worked quickly to heal wounds and remove afflictions, and the team stood a little straighter and looked more determined with each brief second that passed. Quillion leaped from behind cover, motioning for Lelissa to follow.

"Give me a shield to the front! Ranged to the back rank! Lelissa, get the Knights on that ugly lump, and let's get something done!"

Lelissa sprinted to the front, motioning to two Death Knights to assist her. A few months ago, she would have been very uncomfortable fighting alongside them, but Quillion had vouched for them, and his word counted for a great deal. Since then, they had become a very efficient team, and they all worked in concert against the pulpy, many-mouthed body of the Old God.

One of Yogg-Saron's guardians appeared across the room and began charging directly for the three, intent on protecting its master. A lone paladin stepped forward from the back ranks, sending a lance of holy energy into the creature. Rage contorted its twisted visage and it turned toward the paladin, striking at him with flailing tentacled arms. Each of these strokes he caught on his shield, but the creature was powerful, and each successive smash against that shield drove the paladin to his knees.

"Knights, get on that elekk... squid... thing! Lelissa, stay where you are! Casters focus on Yogg! We have to bring him down!" At Quillion's command, the pair of Death Knights broke away from the Old God and moved to attack the guardian, their fast and powerful attacks carving into the creature. It was bleeding from numerable wounds and was obviously weakened - no longer pounding the defending Paladin like a tent peg - but it refused to die. Worse, the Old God had called another guardian into the fray, and it raced to join the first.

A sudden explosion of thunder and a flash of light crashed in the middle of the battle, and a smoldering pile of ash was all that was left of the weakened guardian. The booming laugh of Thorim could be heard above the battle, and the fighters were able to breathe a little easier, and the Paladin struggled under the crushing blows of the new guardian until it had been heavily blooded once again.

A dark, hollow laugh from Yogg-Saron washed over them, and Lelissa's mind went fuzzy for a moment. She stumbled as she turned, catching a glimpse of figures standing behind her... nine copies of her sister, Malyss, attacking an old friend, Esmerellda. Esmerellda was holding her own for the time being, bashing one of the strange clones with her mace, but the two behind her were quickly making swift work of her armor. Pieces of plate were cut away and sent flying, and her back, exposed to blades, was slashed with deep cuts. Feeling the rage building in her, Lelissa charged to save her friend, diving headlong into the two clones at her back, tackling them to the floor. She wrestled with them, trying to keep them on the ground, only to be blasted away by dark energy thrown from another at the back. Lelissa jumped to her feet, seeking to go to her friend's rescue, but one of the clones stood in way, twin axes at the ready.

Lelissa leaped at the clone, a feral roar escaping her lips as her axe clashed again and again with the pair wielded by her sister. She was growing frustrated, seeing Esmerellda's form slashed by swords and axes, bashed by maces, pierced with bullets and wracked by spells; every moment counted, and if she didn't hurry, then...

Esmerellda exploded into a flash of light, leaving nothing behind. Lelissa screamed denial and rage, thrusting the haft of her axe into the clone's gut, doubling it over. She spun and delivered a crushing sweep to the side of its head, and charged for the clones that cut her friend down. Just as she reached them, the room swam, and she ran headlong into one of Purgatory's Death Knights, knocking her aside and crashing into the shield of the Paladin who fought the guardians just moments before. She thumped to the ground, and her axe fell from her hands, clattering and skidding across the flagstones. Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Lelissa looked up, blinking confusedly at her teammates.

"Hmel, check Van and see how bad he's hurt," Quillion said to the Paladin as he held out his hand. "Up off the floor with you, 'Lissa. What happened to you? You suddenly turned and attacked Van and Averna, and nobody knew what the hell was going on."

Lelissa let him help her up, then looked over her shoulder to see Hmel helping Van to his feet, a little hurt and far less than dead, but certainly worse for wear. Looking back at Quillion in horror, she shrank back a little, her voice shaking. "I... I don't kn-now what happened... I heard Yogg-Saron laugh and then I saw... I saw..." She cradled her head in her hands, shutting her eyes, trying to hold off waves of vertigo as she regained her senses and sanity. "Light, my head hurts."

Quillion watched Hmel and Van limp past the dead god, making their way to the healers. "Well, I wouldn't worry. Yogg-Saron was an architect for a lot of chaos. It would only make sense that he'd be able to warp what you see to suit his purposes. Get your bearings a little bit, then collect your axe and meet us back where we fought the Iron Council. We've got to stop and see Brann on our way out and see what he found out about those sigils we found."

Lelissa nodded, and Quillion turned to leave. She watched him walk away for a long moment, then turned her thoughts inward, considering old friends, family, and enemies.

Looking at the carnage on the library table, Valyra wondered if she were even searching in the right place for what she needed. Sighing softly, she began to clean up the mess, neatly stacking books and papers that only moments before had been strewn about the giant table as though subject to an explosion. Hopefully the counsel she would gain from her old guildmates would provide some sort of insight, for she was at a loss. At least Myrlia had experience with the Shadow, and Kelarr... Druids are supposed to know about cleansing the earth and all that anyway. And where the hell were they?

The two were supposed to arrive in Southshore almost four days ago. Valyra had finally given up on waiting after the first day, and instead left a message with the innkeeper to tell them to wait until she arrived. She had gone back to check every day after, but only later after she had finished researching for the day. It gave her something to do; every night since the first dream, she had had others showing Lelissa's demise in new ways each time. Shuddering, she knew that it was her unconscious mind looking Forward as it often did, looking at the possibilities, but one truth always remained the same.

Lelissa would die if she left to confront Malyss on her own.

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grade 80

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Here we are at last - the final installment (at least until Cataclysm) to the Arms Warrior Elementary School.

Much like the other levels, level 80 is more of the same - a few upgraded abilities, one entirely new one (well, kind of), the addition of a new glyph, and making some gear choices.

At this point, I would like to remind everyone that I am by no means an expert. I'm good at what I do, but I'm not really a theorycrafter. I test things out, and I make my decisions based on what works, on what I see in practice; if it looks good on paper, but doesn't work in "reality," then to me, it's wasted effort. I've been known to spend hours in front of a test dummy, and just as much time running back and forth to the Warrior trainers for a re-spec. I've spent more gold than I'd care to think about on re-spec costs, gems, re-gems, tradeskills, and buying my way up through new tradeskills just to see if one or the other will allow me to get just a little more DPS than before.

I say this because many of my decisions (that I will be including here, as well as my reasons why) fly in the face of theorycrafting. I'm sure that there is no limit to how many number-jockeys out there who will be able to take my spec choices and my gem choices and show me a hundred different equations as to why I'm playing wrong. And that's fine. You won't change my mind, but it might be useful for someone else who wants to play that way. I won't stop you, just be civil about it in the comments - flames will be discarded without a second consideration.

Without further ado... let class begin!

Part 1 - Abilities

Level 80

Commanding Shout
Mortal Strike
Execute
Heroic Throw - New (Sort of) - Allows the Warrior to throw their weapon and deal damage based on Attack Power. High threat. Similar to Shattering Throw except for two things: the ability doesn't have the armor penetration/shielding destruction component, and Heroic Throw technically came first. Shattering Throw was added later in a patch.

Part 2 - Talents

For those of you following with my "boss spec," you'll want to pick up your second point in Improved Mortal Strike. If you're still using Bladestorm, but have been following along otherwise, pick up the first point in Improved Mortal Strike.

If you're curious about what my spec looks like, you can take a peek at Lelissa's armory link to the right.

Part 3 - Glyphs

Level 80 gives you your final major glyph, and here we pick up Execution.

By this time, you should have these major glyphs: Rending, Mortal Strike, Execution.
You should also have these minor glyphs: Charge, Battle, Bloodrage.

Part 4 - Gear

We covered most of it last time, but let's cover the basics of what you need to shoot for.

You will need:
Enough hit rating to make your cap of 8%. If you're anything but a Draenei, this works out to about 263 hit rating. A Draenei only needs 230. (Lelissa is woefully overstacked on hit rating right now simply due to uncooperative RNGs. Hoping to iron this out with Tier 10.)

Enough expertise rating to get to 18 expertise. Depending on your race, the amount of rating you need will vary - just remember to check and make sure you always see an 18, and you'll be just fine.

Enough critical strike rating to get as close to 35% crit as you can. The reason for this is sheer rage generation; as it stands right now, with the glyphs and talent points in Improved Execute, it's possible for me to use nothing but Execute at the tail end of a boss fight. "What's this? 20%? Execute, Execute, Execute, Execute, oh look a Sudden Death, how unnecessary right now, Execute, Execute, Execute...." Honestly, the last 20% of a boss is probably the point where Arms shines best (aside from that physical damage boost we give to a raid for the other 80% as well).

I'm going to get nailed to a cross for this, but when it comes to gems, you really can go one of two ways. Assuming all the above requirements have been met, you can go for either Strength or Armor Penetration. The hardcore theorycrafters are going to cry foul, saying that you should always take ArP over Strength, but in all of my testing, through multiple test dummies and live testing on boss fights, I honestly haven't seen much of a difference between the two. Personally, I prefer Strength gems over Armor Penetration, and the reason is simply due to reliability. Armor Penetration has always been a wonky stat on gear, and Blizzard has never seemed to be able to nail down just how much of it they want to be effective. Strength, at least, remains constant, and is affected by things like Blessing of Kings. It makes more sense to me.

Part 5 - Making the Most of Your Abilities

First, let's go over the Arms priority, since it's changed a little bit based on testing and re-evaluation since my last post on it.

1. Rend
2. Overpower
3. Execute
4. Mortal Strike
5. Slam

Rend should always be applied first, and reapplied only when it falls off your target. Don't waste DPS, Rage, and a global cooldown by clipping your Rend ticks.

Overpower is next, because of the limited window you have to use it on rend ticks; don't forget, it also gets priority because there's a built in cooldown on the proc, and you don't want to miss one.

Execute takes priority over Mortal Strike because of the nature of Sudden Death - a limited window where you can use the ability. Unlike Taste for Blood, however, there isn't a cooldown built into the talent. On more than one occasion, I've had Sudden Death procs back to back.

Mortal Strike takes priority over Slam for two reasons: the debuff cuts heals on your target in half, and as an instant strike, can be used on the move. If you've ever fought the Faction Champions in Trial of the Crusader, you'll understand why this is immensely valuable. If you haven't yet, well... you'll see.

Slam is last on the list. Even at a .5 second cast time, if you so much as nudge in a direction or your target moves out of range, you'll get interrupted. For stationary boss fights (which is most of them), it works fantastically well (especially with the 2-piece buff from Tier 8 gear), but for the rest, it's not terribly handy.

Practice getting the priority down on a test dummy or two before going on to boss fights. In the heat of the moment, it's sometimes difficult to keep the momentum going, and you might miss an attack or three, but it's not easy getting used to a priority system. You just have to keep working at it.

A few other abilities to cover:

Victory Rush: Handy to have on your bar during those moments when everything is on cooldown or hasn't activated, especially in the middle of trash fights. Getting the killing shot on one gets you a free punch at the next.

Sweeping Strikes: Valuable on trash pulls, I keep this one on the bar as well. Doubly valuable when used with Cleave.

Charge: This one is imperative. You should always use this at the beginning of a fight, and in the middle of combat as appropriate. Razorscale in Ulduar is an excellent example - when her wing buffet knocks everyone into the air, you can use Charge to close the distance with her, land safely without taking any damage at all, and get a few last-second swings in before she takes off again. You get to save your healers some extra mana and you build some extra Rage in the process. It's win/win.

I hope you find this information valuable. Again, what you see here might conflict with predetermined notions of what is "best" for Arms, especially from more prominent theorycrafters like TankSpot or Elitist Jerks, but I hope that my personal experience and testing makes up for the difference.

See you on the battlefield.

The Long, Slow Spiral

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Ratters has retired.

Some of you might not know who this most hilarious personage is, but for a long time, his writing has given me a lot to laugh about and much to consider.

I wonder if this is a sign of the times. Maybe this is an indication of the state of World of Warcraft, and its impending future. A lot of Warcraft bloggers are just hanging up their hats and moving on.

Some folks are saying the game needs to go back to having challenging content without the necessity of needing hard modes to get it. Repetition, after all, tends to dull the senses - the sense of wonder being one of them.

Others say that the game isn't as easy as most people seem to think it is. After all, how many people have actually seen Yogg-Saron in 25-man, much less Algalon?

For a few people I know personally, the game just isn't interesting anymore, and they say that Warcraft has started its crash-and-burn, the downward spiral into oblivion.

I'm not convinced of the "easy mode," but I'm not convinced that the game is too difficult, either. To me, the game is still a challenge, but no longer impossibly daunting; in Burning Crusade, my guild never got very far because of several reasons, chief among them that a) we were never able to get 25 people on at the same time without gobs of advance planning and b) the spectrum of player skill and player focus varies greatly across the casual guild that my Death Knight belongs to.

I don't think that we're reaching the end of Warcraft, that the old girl has plenty of life in her yet. But I do think that something is missing; that there should be more to the game than what we have right now (yes, the repetition is incredibly dull). It all comes down to my experience with how the gaming world has changed, my expectations, and a little perspective.

How the Gaming World Has Changed - In Game, and Out

In the days of EverQuest, the economy was booming. The optimist in me would like to think that companies had large staffs of people in the art department, doing the programming, the graphic design... you know, all the stuff that makes the game the game. Expansions to EverQuest, with the exception of a couple I can think of, were tremendous additions to the world you already knew. Dozens of raid zones, hundreds of places to grind experience, and who knows how many new quests. The expansions were never 100% complete, obviously, but I'd say they were complete enough to warrant that 90% of the content was available when the expansion went public.

Along comes World of Warcraft. At release time, there was a boatload of content already available in the game, and they were working on more as quickly as they could. It took a while, but when the raid instances were released, Molten Core was enormous, and Blackwing Lair as much so. Ahn'Qiraj and Naxxramas were absolute nightmares for many raiding guilds.

Naxx came a little bit late to the party because not long after, along came Burning Crusade. There were 10 more levels to be had, new gear, new quests, and new raid instances that couldn't be breached without a TON of prerequisite work. It gave the developers a small cushion to finish working on raid zones that, in my opinion, should have already been completed by release time. I think the reasons for this were more related to the beginning of a flagging economy, and a lot of belt-tightening from even successful businesses, but who knows but Blizzard? In any case, the guilds already through SSC and TK were chomping at the bit for an unfinished BT and Hyjal. When all that was done, they were chomping at the bit for anything, and Blizzard responded with the Sunwell.

After a relatively appropriate length of time, with many of the world's more premiere guilds finishing Sunwell, along came Wrath, with 10 more levels, uncountable numbers of quests, the achievement system, and tons - well, okay, three - new raids, where only two of them were new. I'd like to say that Naxxramas was awesome, and I can, because it was. I'd like to say that it was a good way to get players into the meat of the game and really get into this expansion that's all about the Scourge, and I can, because it was. I'd like to say that Naxxramas was refreshing, unique, and new, but I can't, because it wasn't.

Was it the downward trend in the economy and some penny-pinching on Blizzard's part that resulted in less people to work on multiple facets of an otherwise one-dimensional expansion? Maybe. I can't claim to know the real reason behind the release of, in my opinion, a less-than-half-finished expansion. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Wrath immensely, and I think the content is new and different and exciting, but seriously - where the hell was the rest of the game at the outset?

Expectations

I know that Blizzard wanted to make raiding accessible to everyone, and I'm a big proponent of that. Let's face it, I'm not interested in being a part of the ultra-hardcore raiding squad ever again for numerous reasons. Without the new accessibility, I wouldn't be raiding. Hell, I probably wouldn't be playing. I'm a content junkie.

The problem is that we seem to be getting less packaged as something more. In the days of Molten Core, running a raid was more than just killing bosses - it was killing metric tons of trash mobs and pack pulls and fire elementals that could wipe a raid if they didn't die fast enough. Blackwing Lair? Ahn'Qiraj? Naxxramas? A lot more of the same. Six hours of raiding where five of it was just killing trash packs... yeah, not fun.

Burning Crusade tried to package raids as a little more boss-friendly, a little less trash-grindy, but I think they missed the boat a little with Karazhan. It wasn't ever on Molten Core levels, but there was still a ton of crap between you and glittery purples, at least at the very beginning. I think by the time Zul'Aman was released, we'd reached some kind of plateau where the amount of pulls prior to a boss fight was truly reasonable, and the encounters were sometimes complex or even dangerous - good things to have, and this carried over into Wrath.

Wrath brings us to the real question: if less time is being spent on creating mob packs and fight mechanics for trash, why do we not have the time to generate new raid content with the amount of time saved here? I know that for all intents and purposes, creating a group of five mobs with specific abilities and attack patterns isn't terribly time-consuming, but then again, neither is creating a single boss with five different abilities. If your art department and graphic designers aren't working on something else... what the hell?

It just seems like there could have been - there should have been - more than what we got, and sooner, not later.

Perspective

I'm still a big enough fan of the game to know that I'll be playing for a while. I might get bored with it and stay offline for a week or two (Batman: Arkham Asylum is my cruel, cruel mistress. Okay, not so cruel), but this game world is where many of my friends are, and it's where I get a fair portion of my entertainment value. Plus, the sheer number of bargain-basement idiots you can cross paths with in a PUG is always great for rant material or slapstick comedy.

I also know from past experience that as an expansion winds down, it tends to get a little slow and sluggish. We saw it with Burning Crusade and the dreary grind that was Sunwell. We even saw it with Ahn'Qiraj, since Naxxramas really didn't get enough play where it counted. The problem may be with reporting the new releases too early; BlizzCon was in August, and we're not likely to see the expansion before February of 2010. How bad will it be if the new expansion isn't released until August of 2010? That would be an entire year of knowing the game is coming, and having maybe more details about it than we should. Too many people are chomping at the bit for the new content that technically doesn't exist yet. I'm guilty of that myself, but the idea of hunting for Titan artifacts intrigues the hell out of me. I can't help that.

In the end, it's up to each of us as players to determine where our vision of the end stands. For some, the game was over as soon as Aion hit the shelves. For others, Warcraft is eternal, a never-ending voyage of fantasy and adventure.

For me, it's a long slow spiral. Warcraft is my new EverQuest; always changing, always fascinating, but like many relationships, the two involved tend to grow apart over time, for any number of reasons. Maybe like EverQuest, I'll go in search of something new once again.

But not today.

Simplicity At Its Finest

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:18:00 +0000

I think I'm just going to demand that all future raiders read this.

Hilarious.

Another Milestone

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:36:00 +0000

So, this is the 200th post. (Insert much fanfare and waving of hands.) Ironically, once again, I missed another mark - I passed 20000 hits sometime last month.

It's hard to believe. I've been around for only 17 months, but I have a fairly loyal following, I get about 100 new hits per day on average, and a food blog that has really taken off. I consider myself pretty fortunate, but I didn't get here on my own.

Special thanks go to:
All of my (currently) 150 subscribers.

Big Hit Box for highlighting the Arms Warrior Elementary posts - I really appreciate it, and I'm glad people are seeing some value in the information!

Friday McFay, for being awesome.

Caitlyn, also for being awesome. You still owe me pictures from your mountain climb.

Sean and Jess, formerly of Blogatelle, who took a chance and gave me a shot at guest-writing. It really helped me figure out where I wanted to go with blogging and writing in general. I'll miss the work we were doing, but I have no regrets.

Selene York, without whom I probably wouldn't have started writing fiction again (and your new stories will be getting their own day very soon - now that I've got some time to read them first!).

Tammy, for creating the original blog banner, and for being a source of wisdom and temperance for me, both in-game and out.

Greg, the best druid tank ever, for getting me through Java (where I had the worst instructor ever), and for being one of the smartest, most skilled players I could ever count among my "lead team."

Cameron, for being an awesome player, a good friend, and the real reason why I started playing Lelissa in the first place.

Becca, for being my partner in crime, and inspiring me to write the best (and worst) that my characters have to offer.

Anea/Rahima, for her efforts on Nourish as author and as my creative sounding board and a voice of temperance when my enthusiasm teetered on the edge of reality.

Chris, for your efforts on Nourish as author and CSS guru, for providing hosting when our hits went through the ceiling and we needed a new place to hide, and for excellent advice (especially when I didn't think I needed any).

The WoW.com team for highlighting Nourish and my Blizzcon Ticket Contest for the 2008 'Con.

Pete and Shawn, for being my best friends for these many years.

Polly, for at least trying to temper some of the crazy that is Pete. You're fighting a losing battle, but you keep trying anyway! ;)

To the Tweeps - all of my friends and followers on Twitter - you guys have been a source of comedy, camaraderie, insight, and assistance in some form or another for a while now. I appreciate every one of you, and count you all among my friends. Thanks for being there.

It's nearly impossible to make a list without forgetting someone. Suffice to say, if you're reading this post, consider yourself appreciated for your part in helping to make this blog successful. It seems contrived, I know, but for a blog whose only purpose in the beginning was to be a place where I could have a creative outlet and maybe entertain a few people along the way, it's already become greater than anything I ever imagined it could be.

So here's to 200 more posts.

Thank you all.

Friday Fiction - Wounds and Healing, Part 1 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Pix's Note: We're picking up where I left off with the conclusion of Fall from Grace. I'm back to 3rd person omniscient (because 1st person was a lovely challenge, but it can be an incredibly tough way to write, and tends to be less descriptive), so I hope you enjoy it, despite the previous differences.

Lelissa moved through the halls of the Black Temple with care, moving as slowly as possible to keep the clanking of her armor to a minimum. She had already made her way deep within the Temple, but the longer she had to search, the more likely it was that she would be caught. The last two patrols had come almost too close. Had she brought Esmerellda, they might have already been captured by now.

Sneaking along the wall, she came to a corner where the hallways crossed. Sticking to the wall as much as she could, Lelissa followed the branch to the right, hoping that it might lead to Malyss sooner rather than later. At the end, she reached a large door, once carved with scenes of redemption and valor, now scarred and broken by the weapons of the fel orcs and demons who inhabited the Temple. Sadness crept upon her for a brief moment, the desecration and abuse of the once proud Temple of Karabor causing her to shiver at the cruelty of it. Sighing heavily, her eyes widened into disbelief as her breath was visible in the air; it was much colder here than anywhere else in the Temple. It wasn't the cruelty making her shiver.

Malyss was here.

Saying a quick prayer, Lelissa shoved open the door, tucking into a roll that would move her into the room quickly without being a large target. Coming to her feet, axe at the ready, she bellowed a challenge to her sister. "Now we end this Mal--" A solid hit to her stomach knocked the wind from her, and Lelissa stumbled back, taking an accounting of just what she rushed into.

A score of demons, once loyal to Illidan, stood between the sisters. Malyss looked down at Lelissa from her perch on the dais, smiling slightly; her smirk grew from mild amusement into something cruel and hateful. Raising her hand above her head, Malyss called upon an army of ghouls to bolster her demonic followers. The rotting corpses moved to defend their mistress, and Malyss' lips parted for two words: "Destroy her."

Lelissa struck down one of the demons before he had a chance to react, but almost instantly she was forced into defense. The ghouls leaped at Lelissa immediately with little regard for their own lives - after all, it's hard to be protective of something you've already lost - claws and teeth scraping across her armor. She cut down two of the unholy creatures with a mighty sweep of her axe, but still her opponents kept coming.

One of the demons had slipped behind Lelissa, grabbing her around the waist and working his muscled arms under hers; lifting them up and out, he pulled her arms out wide, painfully crushing her shoulders and hampering her blood flow. Lelissa struggled; he was too strong, and her body structure worked against her here - she couldn't kick with any force from this angle, and he was too large for her to score his face with her horns. Finally, her hands numb, Lelissa's axe fell to the floor, leaving her defenseless save for her armor. The ghouls and demons dove in, grabbing for her arms and legs, twisting and pulling cruelly, forcing the warrior to scream and beg for mercy while her sister looked on and laughed.

A loud popping sound followed by a shriek indicated the dislocation of Lelissa's left shoulder, and the continued twisting and tugging only made her scream louder... right up to the point that her arm was torn free from her body, armor and all, and she nearly passed out.

The young woman shot awake with a gasp, sitting upright in bed, eyes wide and shivering with terror. Her pulse was racing, heart pounding in her chest, and she was suddenly very aware of every shadow and every movement in the room. She rubbed her hands over her face as the images in her mind faded into the black, willing away the terror of the figure in her dreams.

When she finally stopped shaking with fright, she slid out of bed, taking the sheet with her to stay warm through midnight's chill since the fire had long since burned low. Wrapping the soft linen around herself, the cloth clung to her figure, hiding curve and scar alike from view. She crossed the empty floor, sheet dragging across the floorboards, and opened the door at the other end of the room, looking briefly up at the night sky. This late at night, nobody would be out and about.

She would need the privacy.

Carefully, she gathered the sheet a little closer to her so that it wouldn't drag, and she closed the door to her home. Hurrying down the narrow avenue, she turned into an alleyway, ran all the way to the end near the wall, and stopped to rest for a moment against the crates stacked nearby. Looking over her shoulder to ensure that she wasn't followed, she discarded the sheet covering her body, quickly climbed the crates, and went over the wall.

The circle was complete, complicated runes in white chalk on the grey stone. It wasn't time to use it just yet, however. There was still one more task.

She moved to an unmarked spot illuminated by the moonlight. She stood naked in the cold night air, eyes closed, her head tilted slightly back, hair fluttering lazily in the light wind. Opening her eyes to the moon, they glowed bright amber as her trance allowed her to look Forward.

A shattered ruby.

Iron bars.

A broken mace.

The visions swam through her mind's eye repeatedly until they finally faded, the amber glow of her eyes fading with them. The woman shook her head as she tried to make sense of them. What did they mean? Were they even real objects? If so, where could they be found? Too many questions, and not enough answers. Either way, they needed to be warned.

Stepping to the circle, the woman began chanting in Eredun, her voice quiet and low on the breeze. Slowly raising her hands to the side, her words became stronger, more forceful, and her body strained with the effort of the summoning; this would hurt, but she didn't have time to craft a soul shard. As her words reached a crescendo, the skin at her joints split and deep cuts appeared in her back and legs, overlapping older scars, blood spilling from every wound. It fell in droplets or ran in rivulets down her back, but the result was the same: the blood made contact with the stone and was drawn to the chalk lines.

Finally, the summoning was complete, but the space before her was empty. She was confused for a moment, until she heard the sultry purr behind her.

"Mmmm, I just love watching you do that. It gets me all excited... and I think you enjoy it more than you let on." The succubus walked slowly around the outside of the circle, her eyes roaming up and down the woman's body, glimmering with obvious arousal. The demon's tongue traced seductively over her upper lip as she drank in the sight, making small, throaty purrs as her eyes fell on each lash mark.

"I liked it less when I couldn't heal as quickly, Fierevere. I need you to play messenger. And no detours."

"Awww, but that's not any fun! It's not like it would take me more than an hour or two... maybe three at the outside!" The succubus' voice was teasing; she knew that she would do whatever her mistress required. Anything to stay out of the Twisting Nether.

The woman smiled. "If not for the urgency of this task, my reluctant seducer, I wouldn't have a problem with it. No, Fierevere, this is very serious. Malyss has Awakened, and Lelissa will run headlong into her death if we don't help her."

Fierevere sighed, resting her hand on her hip. "I knew that girl would be trouble the minute Lelissa brought her home. Who am I off to find, Valyra?"

Valyra leaned her head back, the smell of her own blood on the wind even as the wounds sealed shut. "Kelarr. Tell him to find Myrlia and to meet me in Southshore in two days." Valyra paused, hissing slightly as the deep lashes in her back slowly pulled closed. "We'll need a mage; tell Woggles, but she is not to breathe a word of this to Avyla. If that hot-headed Warrior gets wind of Malyss' situation, she'll kill first and ask questions later."

Fierevere looked genuinely concerned. "I will. And what will you do, mistress?"

"For now, I will return to Gilneas and sleep. In the morning, I have to convince King Greymane to give me access to the library." Valyra sighed. "I have a ritual to research."

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grades 70 - 79

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:31:00 +0000

Yeah, this post has been long overdue. I'm sorry for that, but life happens, y'know? We're almost done anyway.

Part 1 - Abilities

With the exception of a few new attacks, the levels remaining are more of the same. One special addition comes in the form of using your weapon to force a crack in your enemy's armor, or, for those of you fighting on the battlefields, the ability to expose an invulnerable target to harm. Another allows you to channel your rage into rapid healing, useful for those times when you might need to stem the blood flow from massive wounds.

Level 70

Demoralizing Shout
Execute
Mortal Strike

Level 71

Rend
Shattering Throw - *New* - This is a marvelous ability. By throwing your weapon at a target, you can either reduce the target's armor by 20% for a duration of 10 seconds (handy on boss fights), or remove invulnerabilities (such as a Paladin's protective bubble).

Level 72

Cleave

Level 73

Execute
Thunder Clap

Level 74

Commanding Shout
Slam

Level 75

Mortal Strike
Enraged Regeneration - *New* - A handy ability for those bad moments when you get nailed by something you shouldn't have and need the heal before a healer can spare the time, or in PVP, where you might be getting your ass handed to you. Enraged Regeneration restores 30% of your health over 10 seconds, but needs to have an active Enrage effect - either by a critical strike, or the use of Bloodrage.

Level 76

Rend

Level 77

Cleave

Level 78

Battle Shout
Thunder Clap

Level 79

Demoralizing Shout
Slam

Part 2 - Talents

Because we have some separation, I'm once again including optional choices in parentheses. I've been testing the no-Bladestorm build, and against bosses, the output is amazing. having the boost to Execute and to Mortal Strike really hammers my choice home for me, and very rarely do I have rage issues once a boss falls below 20% - it's Executes all the way.

Anyway, from levels 70 to 73, I pick up the last four points in Unbridled Wrath. (First four points in Unbridled Wrath)

74 and 75 can go one of two ways, depending on whether you'd rather have a stat boost to your buffs, or a time boost. I put these two points into Commanding Presence to add 10% to the bonus, but you could just as easily put these points into Booming Voice to extend the duration. (Last point in Unbridled Wrath, point in Endless Rage.)

At level 76, I'd take Endless Rage from the Arms tree before moving any farther in Fury, once again adhering to the rule that "Rage is Good." (Point in Commanding Presence/Booming Voice)

Level 77 and 78 take up the two points in Improved Execute. (Next point of Commanding Presence OR the last point of Booming Voice, and Improved Execute)

Level 79 gets the first point of Improved Mortal Strike. (Last point of Improved Execute)

Part 3 - Glyphs

You get a third minor glyph at level 70 - I'd recommend picking up the Glyph of Battle here.

Part 4 - Gear

Hopefully by this time, I don't have to tell you what to look for! Keep in mind that you're reaching the point where you're going to need to be at your hit cap (8%) for everything you can be, and you'll need to start seeking out Expertise as well.

As an Arms Warrior, the amount of Expertise that you need is ridiculously low - remember that you're already getting 2% less dodge chance out of Weapon Mastery, AND you get 4 free Expertise from Strength of Arms (that's 4 Expertise, NOT Expertise Rating), so instead of needing 26 expertise like most other classes, you only need 14 - less if you're a Human wielding a sword or mace (11, but you shouldn't be), a dwarf using a mace (9, but you shouldn't be), or an Orc using an axe (9, you lucky devils). As you can see, it's great being Arms!

Glad you guys stuck around and waited - We'll be finishing this off next week with Level 80, and a brief primer of priority systems and how to use some of your more common abilities to your best benefit.

See you next time!

Gear Score? Bite Me.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Pix's note: This isn't a full-on rant, but it gets a little colorful. If you're not fond of the language, skip today's post and wait for the next installment of Arms Warrior Elementary tomorrow.

There's a limit to the jackassery that I can stand.

Ever since the advent of Warcrafter and WoW Heroes and other such sites, the yardstick which everyone gets measured by now is called the Gear Score, or GS. Loosely defined, the GS is basically a point value given to your gear, gems, and enchantments, all in a tidy little number. At first, it was a valuable and useful tool, but like so many things (Recount), people are using it without getting a handle on the big picture.

Except instead of telling idiots that they're "LEADING TEH METRES, ZOMG," it's keeping players out of raids.

Now, if I remember right, the last time I checked, my Death Knight has a GS of 2577. But what does it really tell you?

Not.
One.
Fucking.
Thing.

It doesn't tell you if my rotation is solid. It doesn't tell you if I can manage threat, heal effectively, or put out MQoSMDPS* (sorry, Daniel - I had to steal it). It doesn't tell you if my talent spec is well-planned. It doesn't tell you if I can do the Heigan Dance or stay the fuck out of void zones. All it tells you is that, yes, I have gear, and I was lucky enough to win the roll on it.

I'm tired of the mouthbreathing tool starting some random ToC-10 or -25 PUG who demands a GS of 2700 or better, and isn't willing to budge despite the fact that, even though I'm missing his "requirement" by 123 points, I can push between 5 and 6k DPS depending on the fight/raid size, and upward of 8 or 9k depending on other gimmick mechanics (read: Thaddius, Hodir, etc). That's nothing to scoff at - but I still can't get an invite because I've missed the GS mark.

This isn't a hypothetical situation, either.

This weekend, I actually had one asshole twist the knife after the raid was over by sending me a tell saying, "I should have taken you - two people who had 2750 couldn't break 3500."

You know what I say to that?

I know that we're all conditioned to distrust PUGs. Players suck, blah blah blah. But if you're going to actually lead a PUG run for an "endgame" raid instance, whether it's Ulduar or ToC, then you're gonna have to take some folks at their word. Why? It's the fucking internet for one thing - anonymity is the flavor of the damn day. For the other, you're already making assumptions at the face value of a NUMBER. You're assuming that the person with the highest GS is the best goddamn thing since sliced bread. There's always a chance, however small, that they might not be. Maybe they don't know how to handle the light/dark swaps on the Twins. Maybe they can't get the hell out of the way of a giant, onrushing Yeti. Maybe they stand still when they're on fire. Who knows? Hell, there are people in my guilds who have excellent gear, but can't DPS their way out of a wet paper bag, despite being classes that have some incredible "Hello, Hiroshima, may I call you rubble?" potential.

Now I'm not saying that if you're going to set up a run with a 2700 requirement that you should take someone with a 2000 or 2100. I'm just saying that people need to think before they just discount someone for missing a GS mark. Some of the best players I know were breaking 8-10k on Hodir long before they had any gear higher than ilvl 226.

If you're using Gear Score as the be-all and end-all of benchmarking, stop it. All it does is give you a very small portion of the picture, and the assumptions you make now could lead to wipes and repair bills later. Being a leader, especially a raid leader, is more than just finding people to follow you and then telling them what to do.

But that's a lecture for another day.

*Massive Quantities of Sustained Melee DPS - kudos for the original idea (and the apologies for ripping it off and bastardizing it) go to Daniel Howell, formerly of Big Red Kitty. Still enjoying the writing, Dan!

Never a Dull Moment...

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:56:00 +0000

So I've been conspicuously absent.

My vacation last week ended in a hefty bag of stress and getting absolutely nothing done for the blog (though I did work on a recipe for Nourish that will get posted later this week, I hope). Life is something of a mess at the moment, and I'm having to do a lot of cleaning. It's taking its toll, and the blogs are suffering as a result. To my readers, I deeply apologize. I do plan on taking other writers in, but not until I've made the shift to the new blog location... so unfortunately, you'll have to deal with sporadic updates and absences a little while longer.

To make matters slightly worse, I've lost access to most of my blog tools at the office - our IT department has shut down a huge number of links I had access to before my vacation, and it seems that while I was gone, they took every opportunity to go through and lock everything down. I'm sure that things will loosen up again, I'm just not sure when.

Ironically, I have unlimited access to the Nourish website. Since the new location of Pixelated Executioner is being hosted by the same person (thanks, Etherjammer!), if I'd planned ahead and changed everything in advance, there'd be no problems now.

Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

I won't make any promises of content this week. I'm going to use the remainder of the time I have this week to plan the final two Arms Warrior Elementary posts, plot the course of the next portion of Friday Fiction and hopefully get some of it written, and I plan on consolidating my thoughts for one more posting series, which will likely be the last guide I write prior to Cataclysm's release.

I know I mentioned my plans previously, but didn't really want to focus on it until Ulduar was complete. Well, now that Purgatory is almost finished (only Mimiron's hard mode stands between us and Algalon at this point - we've done all the others, including Yogg+1 or -3, however you want to term it), I now need to gather my thoughts and my notes for the new post series - Uldu-Arms: An Arms Warrior's Guide to Ulduar. I'm looking forward to writing it; I hope it turns out like I imagine.

So, I apologize for my absences yet again - it shall be rectified with as much haste as current situations allow. I can't promise that it will be immediate, but it will be soon.

Friday Fiction - Fall From Grace, Conclusion - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Once again, we reach the end of a series of mini-chapters on our way to the next "book." Next week, we'll start the final series (and finally going back into 3rd person! Holy hell 1st person is hard to write! It was a very nice exercise, though), and wrap this whole thing up.

For those of you who missed Parts 1 through 5, you can find them here.

I'm afraid that I already know the answer to this question, but I have to ask. At least Es is here in case Siasha decides to set me on fire again. Her temper is so unpredictable.

"Siasha, we have to go after her and we need someone with your expertise. Can you come with us?"

Siasha's eyes are widening like I'm growing a tail right in front of her. Okay, another tail. Her face is reddening... I think she's about to ask me if I'm insane.

"Are you INSANE?" There goes her voice pitch. I really don't understand how something so small can be so loud.

"You have got to be out of your mind! Do you even realize what you're asking me to DO?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"No! Not going to happen! You are not dragging me to Outland on this fool's errand! My great-great-uncle Bombsprocket always said that you should never inflict insanity upon yourself if you intend to survive it... at least, he always said that until he tried to invent the carrot bomb the year we gave him a snowshoe rabbit for Winter Veil; that poor bunny... but that's not the point! The point is, I'm not going to get involved! Go find Valyra! Take her along with you! I won't be a part of it!"

Valyra? And she calls me insane? "Siasha, we haven't seen Valyra since she went off to investigate the Greymane Wall. That was more than a year ago, and nobody has heard from her since. It's likely that she's dead."

"Not my problem! You and Esmerellda are on your own! I won't have it!"

Yep, she's upset. She actually said Esmerellda's name.

Before I can protest any further, a glowing green circle appears under Siasha's feet and she is gone. Sighing, I can only hope that she won't call in the cavalry, but it's time for plan B.

"It's okay, 'Lissa. We'll figure something out." Esmerellda's hand on my arm is a comfort, but a small one in the face of what I have to do. I just hope she understands.

"We will. But now isn't the time. There's something else that I have to do."

"You know I'm with you. Whatever it takes, we'll get through this and save her."

I turn to face her, shaking my head sadly. "But you can't go where I'm going. Not yet."

Sighing, I tug my tabard over my head. Folding it carefully, trying to think of what to say next, I avoid Esmerellda's gaze. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. As I'm searching for words, a Night Elf strides toward us from a nearby alley. Dammit. He's early.

He approaches, nodding politely to Esmerellda, then turns to me. "Ready to go, Lelissa?"

Esmerellda's face is a mixture of confusion and anger. "Lelissa, what is going on here?"

I wince. She's angry with me, and probably rightly so; I'd hoped to explain this before my friend arrived, but there's nothing to be done about it. Handing her my tabard, I finally decide on what to say. "If Siasha won't help, we are doomed unless I can find a way to subdue Malyss. We can't just rush off to the Black Temple to track her down, because if she's there, she'll kill us.

"You watched her in that cave. You know she's stronger, faster, and deadlier than she ever has been, and her power only continues to increase as time goes on. I don't know how much of it is her and how much is the fel corruption in her, but I know that we don't have much time. I have to leave the guild."

"So she's more powerful, big deal! What does that have to do with you leaving Fate's Legacy?" Her hands are crumpling the tabard... I suspect if I hadn't handed it over, she'd be doing her best to crush my armor instead.

"Fate's Legacy is still a part of the force that is cleaning out Naxxramas of the last vestiges of the dead. I feel that we've learned all we can from it, but we still find ourselves in there looking for something new." I nod to my Night Elf friend. "Quillion has come to take me to Ulduar, but in order to do so, I have to be reassigned. There is too much to be done, and I can't afford to wait any longer."

It's going to be the last time I see her for a while. I reach out, pulling her to me in a hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but I have to do this.

"I'd go through Hell to save her, Es. She's my sister."

Quillion smirks. "And before anyone passes into Hell, they've got to do their time in Purgatory. Hate to break this up, ladies, but it's time for us to go, Lelissa."

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grades 60 - 69

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Welcome back, class! Apologies for the impromptu break, but it's been a little busy around here lately. We're back in full force, though, and look! You're almost ready to graduate!

But we're not done yet. Still plenty of work to be done.

Part 1 - Abilities

We have a few new techniques to round out your skills for leveling, but nothing that will see a typical priority list in a difficult fight.

Two completely new abilities are in this set of levels. Don't forget, also, that once you make your way into Outland, you'll have to make regular trips back with each new level to train your abilities - you're not in Azeroth anymore (and if you are, GTFO until Northrend!).

Level 60

Battle Shout
Cleave
Mortal Strike
Rend

Level 61

Slam

Level 62

Demoralizing Shout
Victory Rush - *NEW* - This is a handy ability. Whenever you make a killing blow on a target that grants experience or honor, this ability is an instant, rage-free attack you can use on your next target (within a few seconds, of course). Very useful when fighting packs or when fighting mobs close enough together that you can hit the next with a charge and follow up with Victory Rush. Also fun in PVP!

Level 66

Mortal Strike

Level 67

Thunder Clap

Level 68

Rend
Commanding Shout - *NEW* - Got a Paladin in your raid to provide Blessing of Might? Use this for a hitpoint boost. Commanding Shout gives a nice increase to raid health for a low rage cost, but requires a refresh every couple of minutes; it also doesn't stack with Blood Pact, so don't get confused if your health doesn't skyrocket with a Warlock in the party.

Level 69

Slam

Part 2 - Talents

Because I'm in the process of reinventing my build for PVE that ignores Bladestorm, I'll be giving my suggestions following that path. Afterward, I'll include parts in parentheses that give you alternate suggestions if you're going to PVP, or you'd rather Bladestorm your way to level 80 and switch later.

At level 60, finish off Wrecking Crew. (Bladestorm is your other option.)

Level 61-65 picks up five points in Cruelty, because the extra crit is always handy. (If you took Bladestorm before, finish Wrecking Crew and take 4 points of Cruelty by this point.)

Level 66-68 picks up the three points in Armored to the Teeth, which grants Attack Power based on your Armor Value, which is why I recommended plenty of plate armor. (Finish Cruelty and take 2 points in Armored to the Teeth.)

Level 69 snags the first point in Unbridled Wrath for extra rage. On some fights, you'll need as much as you can get, believe me. (Finish Armored to the Teeth.)

Part 3 - Glyphs

Nothing new this round.

Part 4 - Gear

Now that we're moving through Outland, we're getting gear with all kinds of new stats on it. Try to stick with Strength and Stamina as always, but be on the lookout for items with hit rating and critical strike rating. They'll become very important as time goes on.

See you next time!

A Small Update

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:15:00 +0000

I'm sure many of you noticed that the latest Arms Warrior Elementary didn't go up yesterday.

Friday Fiction, unfortunately, will not make it up today, either.

It's been busy. With friends and guildmates in town, other friends moving into town, the new class starting, and a family member in the hospital, I just haven't had much time outside of everything else to sit back and work on what I needed to for the blog.

I'm looking to have Arms Warrior Elementary up this weekend, as well as Friday Fiction next week. Fair warning, though - another friend is coming to visit at the end of the month, and I'll be on another short hiatus then, though I'll try to have everything ready beforehand so we don't run into an issue like this.

Anyway, enjoy your Friday, and your weekend!

Friday Fiction - Fall From Grace, Part 5 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +0000

In case you missed them, here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

This is going to be the strangest lesson I've ever learned. I'm sure of it.

Siasha has been sitting there quietly for a few minutes, clearly mulling over what she's going to tell us. She sighs a few times, picks little pieces of lint out of her robe, and makes terribly cute frowns when shaking her head... she's probably changing her mind about wording. Through it all, Es and I are quiet. We have no choice but to wait, and I'm not going to rush her.

I like this place. I don't want her to set it on fire.

"First of all, every living creature has a soul. You, me, Peaches, that rat over there... you get the idea. Now, a soul... fits... inside the body it inhabits. Fits it like a glove. For those of us who can see it, we can see that there is an aura that surrounds the body like a protective covering, that moves and shifts in the exact same ways that your body moves and shifts."

Siasha reaches into a small pouch at her belt, taking a small, violet crystal from inside it and laying it on the table. She looks carefully at Es and me, then continues.

"Now, when you die, especially by violence, a tremendous amount of energy is released. The soul is released from the confines of a physical vessel and expands at an exponential rate of..." - she waves her hands in the air, a little exasperated - "Sorry. Anyway, the soul is released, and it expands. Warlocks can siphon off some of that final energy burst and store it in these forms." She pats the little crystal on the table. "But that's not really important. What's important is understanding the expansion. Death injures the soul, and like any injury, it's going to swell. Now, when Peaches here put your soul back into your body, her spell has two parts - "

"Right, because my spell has to heal the soul first. That makes so much more sense now."

I wince. Siasha is looking very directly at Es, obviously not amused.

"Do you want to explain this, Peaches? I can just as easily be off doing something else, you know."

Esmerellda blushes and manages to squeak out an apology. Under the table, I reach over and give her hand a reassuring squeeze. I've been on the receiving end of that glare. It's not fun.

"Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. The spell first has to heal the damaged soul, and then it slips right back into place, neat as you please." Siasha frowns, shaking her head. "But a Death Knight... whoever is restoring the soul to the body isn't healing it first. They just shove it back in there, and the soul doesn't fit at all. Probably why they're so angsty and stuff about being dead. They're worse than the Forsaken, and I don't even want to know how whiny a Forsaken Death Knight would be. Ugh."

Siasha shudders, probably disturbed by the mental image she conjured for herself. Opening her eyes, she looks at me... and I can see that she is truly pained by what she is about to say.

"And your sister... she's worse off than most of them. Her soul's aura looks like she's been stuffed in, ripped out, stuffed back in backwards, and then had the cracks sealed up with duct tape and jb-14 welding compound... which, while useful for the expansion cracks in high powered rocket racers, it isn't terribly good for use on soul-mending."

I make a face. This is not a comforting thought.

"It gets worse. Souls have a color palette, so to speak. Your average, everyday, uninteresting soul gives off a white aura - very neutral. Angry, red. Someone in the throes of passion can give off blue or even violet." She frowns. "Stop smirking at me. This is serious."

Siasha sighs, looking away for a moment before turning back to look at me again.

"When Malyss came back from Outland, her soul aura was green."

Es pipes up. "So, what, she was jealous or something?"

Siasha shook her head. "I only wish. Jealousy actually glows yellow or orange. No, a green soul aura is impossible... but if you think she has been corrupted by the Legion, that might explain it. You see, Fel energy is very powerful, and very addictive. Your people, Lelissa, being more closely related to the Eredar would be extremely sensitive to it. Personally, I don't think red skin and claws would be a good look for you."

Siasha stares for a moment at the soul shard laying on the table before picking it up.

"I need some of my reference books. Just a moment."

Siasha hops down from her chair to the floor and walks to an empty corner nearby, slightly hiking up her robes to keep them from dragging in the dirt. She whispers a word, the fingernail on her right index finger growing long and impossibly sharp... using that nail, she carves a fel rune into the shard, continuing the incantation, the nail retreating quickly when her carve is finished.

It's a strange ritual to watch; Siasha is holding the shard like she would a lover, gently brushing the back of her hand across the rune like it was her partner's face. Her eyes are half-lidded as she brings the rune to her lips and kisses it gently, whispering to it one last time. "Come to me... Darora..."

The light in the room dims just a little bit more. Shadows begin to gather at Siasha's feet, swirling around her, cradling her in a dark embrace before rushing into the shard in her hands. Opening her palms, Siasha lets the shard fall from her grasp, but it doesn't fall very far - instead, it stops abruptly just inches from where she let it go, spinning slowly in midair, and pulsing with a black light from within.

I can feel the tug of this power on my soul. Fel energy, calling out to me... Siasha is right; the Draenei are very susceptible to it. Even as it calls to me, though, I am repulsed by it... it seems so unnatural, so demonic, that even as my soul turns from it, my muscles force my body to twist away as well.

The shadows begin to solidify and take shape, the shard becoming the heart of Siasha's summons... the shadows coalesce into veins sprawling haphazardly about, bones stacked in a kneeling position, overlaying with muscle, sinew, skin, until finally solidifying into a voluptuous, sultry shape...

"There you are, Darora dear," Siasha says to the succubus kneeling before her. "I have an errand for you."

"An errand?" Darora whines. Even her whine sounds seductive and petulant at the same time. "Why me? Why couldn't you have one of the others do it?"

Siasha pats the complaining succubus on the head. "Simple, dear. Pagnam is too small to carry all the books I need, Bruuzhum would drool all over them, and Hathgak can't read. That leaves you. Now, I need you to go back to my library and get me my copy of my Uncle Cogtosser's Fel Power: Locales and Liaisons... Aunt Zot's Fel Primaries: Orcs and Elves... oh, and my copy of Jaina's treatise on Fel-tainted Orcs."

The succubus sighs, her rather ample and barely clothed bosom heaving with boredom. "Oh, fine. I'll go get your books. You know, you haven't let me seduce an elf in such a long time. I'm starting to wonder if you remember what I'm here for."

The succubus strolls out of the inn, hips swaying provocatively, and I have to admit I'm amused by the numerous pairs of eyes, both male and female, watching her leave with great interest.

Siasha is leafing through her books, marking certain pages and making small thoughtful noises. I'm not really paying attention to which books she's looking at, but at least we were able to eat while she spent the last few hours reading.

"Ah, here we are. Now, as you know, there are locations on Azeroth and Outland that are heavily corrupted. Felwood on the continent of Kalimdor especially, and Shadowmoon Valley are probably the worst for continuous fel contamination. These two locations are constantly influenced by the corrupted environment caused from previous invasions."

I nod. "I've been to Felwood on numerous occasions, but the fel energy there doesn't seem so strong."

"Well, that's mostly because of time. The environment tends to take care of itself if you let it, and you don't pollute the area more than you have. Smar is always giving me lectures whenever I have to summon an infernal. Anyway, it's also possible to corrupt people. Warlocks tend to carry that corruption in varying degrees, since we're always dabbling with the magic, but you don't have to be a Warlock to be affected. The Orcs have had problems with fel corruption for quite some time. Only one group managed to escape the corruption, which was originally caused by the drinking of demon blood."

Lelissa raced up the side of the mountain, her friend Ravekk, an Orc of the Doomhammer clan, running closely behind her. Ravekk was young, having seen his fifteenth summer on Draenor, and he had yet to take his trial of passage into adulthood. Lelissa was much older, though still not an adult by Draenei society standards, given the long lives that the Draenei were accustomed to having. Normally, this race would be full of laughter and joy, but today, this flight is caused by fear.

The two scrambled over rocks and brambles, a half dozen Orcs behind them, axes and blades swinging through the air. Shouts of "Get them!" and "Crush that Draenei maggot!" carried to their ears on the wind, only adding to the panic Lelissa felt when she first saw the Orcs rushing at her with weapons drawn.

An axe whistled past her head, catching the sunlight as it whipped past her field of vision, blinding her for just an instant. Lelissa stumbled on the rocks and fell forward, throwing her arms in front of her to protect her face and head.

Ravekk caught her by the arm, lifting her easily with his muscled frame. "Come on, Tail, no time for that now! We gotta go!" Even in her panic, Lelissa had to laugh at her nickname. She had called him Tusk, for his single lower fang that protruded from his mouth over his upper lip. In turn, he called her Tail, not just because she had one, but because the structure of his mouth and teeth didn't agree with sibilant words and phrases, it was hard for him to say her name. When he was certain that Lelissa had her footing, he pushed her forward, turning to face their attackers. "Keep going! I'll be right behind you!"

Those were the last words he ever said to her. When she cleared the ridge and spared a second to look back, she was just in time to see Tusk's head sailing away from his torso, courtesy of a well-swung axe.

"On the other hand, the Sin'dorei Elves... don't curl your lip like that, dear, it's not becoming... have always had issues with magical addiction ever since Azshara's rule. When they discovered the rush they could get from fel energy... well, let's just say it's like giving a dwarf the key to the mead cellar. The ones that followed Kael'thas into Outland are even worse, since they've succumbed to the blood taint as well. They might as well be doubly corrupted. And they're crazy, too, if you ask me."

"So, can it be reversed? We're talking about my sister, here."

"Patience, sweetie, we're getting to that. Now, it's possible to cleanse the tainted demonic energy from felcloth - I've done it myself on numerous occasions - but it requires a Moonwell and is a tiring and time-consuming practice. The Aldor in the Temple of Unending Light in Shattrath are able to cleanse the taint from fel armor found on the demons of Outland, or so I've heard. I'm not exactly welcome there, you see. So obviously, it's possible to cleanse the taint from items."

Siasha sighs.

"People, though... The Orcs have been trying to find a way to cleanse the blood haze from their tribes and clans for some time now, but according to Miss Proudmoore, it's only a theory. She seems to be under the impression that it should be possible to trap a soul inside a soul gem, and then cleanse it with a combination of Shamanic and Druidic magic, performed in a special ritual circle."

"So, we could do this for Malyss?"

Siasha scoffs; a sure sign that the sarcasm is about to be spread pretty thick. "Oh, sure. All we have to do is find her, subdue her, and keep her from killing any of us in the process. Then we have to separate her soul from her body without killing her, and then hope that Jaina's theory is correct. After that, Peaches can perform a minor miracle and coax the soul back into the body so it's aligned properly, and we can all live happily ever after. " Siasha frowns at me. "Yeah, that'll work."

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grades 50 - 59

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:20:00 +0000

Welcome back, class! Hope you enjoyed the break from school last week.

No? Hmm.

Then apparently we're not working you hard enough. Well, take a seat, and pay attention - plenty to talk about during this session.

Part 1 - Abilities

By now, you have already learned every skill you need to know in order to perfect your prowess in battle. Mortal Strike, Overpower, Slam, Rend, and Execute are your closest companions and truest friends as time wears on, and the rest of the abilities you'll learn from here on out are either improvements, situational abilities, or abilities that will enhance your bread and butter attacks.

Any questions?

Only 12 new abilities this time around. The lists tend to get shorter as time goes on, and fewer new abilities are added to your repertoire.

Level 50

Cleave
Rend

NEW: Recklessness - This is a handy little ability that requires Berserker Stance, but it's easy enough (especially near the beginning of a tough boss fight) to jump into Berserker, trigger Recklessness, swap back to Battle and enjoy the benefit of an extra 100% critical strike chance for your next three attacks. The drawback? You'll take 20% more damage while pulling this stunt, but on a boss fight, you shouldn't be getting tagged anyway.

Level 52

Battle Shout

Level 54

Demoralizing Shout
Mortal Strike
Slam

Level 56

Execute

Level 58

Thunder Clap

Part 2 - Talents

We hop into level 50 with the 9th tier of Arms talents unlocked, but we're not ready to buy them just yet.

Level 50 - Pick up the last point in Unrelenting Assault

Level 51, 52, and 53 - Sudden Death: This is the most entertaining talent in the Arms repertoire, in my opinion, with each point granting a 3% chance to be able to use Execute on any attack, no matter what health level your target is at. Additionally, when you reach 3 points, you'll be able to keep at least 10 rage after performing an Execute. Keep in mind with the changes for patch 3.2, Execute now only uses 30 rage when used, so you're less likely to burn a full bar when an enemy is under 20%. It means you don't have to watch your buff bar like a hawk anymore. Handy, especially on tough fights later on.

Level 54 and 55 - Blood Frenzy: If there's anything that makes a guild want to bring an Arms Warrior to a raid, this is it. While it increases your attack speed by 10% (makes you faster), it also causes your Rend and Deep Wounds effects to increase all physical damage to your targets. This means that your special attacks are affected, your normal attacks are affected, and all other raid members using physical attacks on your target also benefit from this buff - Rogues, other Warriors, Paladins, Death Knights, Hunters (and their pets!), Enhancement Shamans, Feral Druids, and Warlock pets that deal physical damage. Pretty big list to add an additional 4% damage to, no?

Levels 56 - 59 - Wrecking Crew: Critical hits causing Enrage effects that improve your damage output is a win in any book. Don't miss out on these.

Part 3 - Glyphs

At level 50, you gain another Minor Glyph slot. If you followed my recommendation and took the Glyph of Charge at level 15, I'd recommend taking the Glyph of Bloodrage now. Either way, by this time, you should have both of those Glyphs in use.

Part 4 - Gear

Nothing's really changed here yet. Focus on Strength and Stamina gear for damage and survival as you go, and we'll start worrying about gear that helps Critical Strikes soon enough. If you can, start looking for the Battlegear of Valor set - it's decent enough to give you a jump-start into Hellfire Peninsula, unless you've got substantial funds that will allow you to search for plate items "of the Beast" which provide Strength, Stamina, and Agility (and are better). Unless I miss my guess, there are uncommon items starting at level 57 with these stats. I'd suggest "of the Soldier" items, but for some bizarre reason, Blizzard only made mail in Outland with these stats, and you won't want mail over the course of the next few levels.

Try this list for some ideas of what you can grab.

That's all for this week, class! See you next time!

Saturday Sideshow, July 26 - August 1

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Saturday Sideshow is back!

After a two-week hiatus, we return to that time-honored tradition of linking other people's stuff because we don't have anything else to write about!

I'm kidding.

Anyway, check out these awesome posts by some awesome bloggers (most of them even better than me - I know, impossible, right? Okay, not impossible. Hush). It's kind of a short list (shorter than usual), but hey, it's Summer. Check them out, and give these folks some love (and hits)!

Enjoy!

Friday Fiction - Fall From Grace, Part 4 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Pix's Note: I'm sure that some of you have noticed that we're missing a couple weeks' worth of Saturday Sideshow, and that Arms Warrior Elementary didn't go up yesterday. Unfortunately, class and a group project got in the way, and I had to take care of that first. Hopefully next week, we'll be back to a normal schedule, now that this class is over and the final project is done.

Anyway, enjoy today's story portion, featuring Fate's Legacy's favorite snarkmistress (much of her actions come from Siasha's player as much as they come from me, so you can thank her for her contributions)!

Oh, and in case you missed them: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

I hate the tram. Sure, it's a fast way to travel between Stormwind and Ironforge, and yes, it's a marvelous accomplishment between the Gnomes and Dwarves... but it certainly wasn't built with the Draenei in mind.

Everyone knows of the Draenei by now. They've seen our leg structure, how we run, the fact that we have hooves... you know, the obvious. In battle, we're stable fighters, but there are two reasons for that: one, we're usually on unmoving ground, and two, we've trained long and hard on hoof placement, weight, and balance. On the tram, though... no, you know what? Anyone wanting to experience what it's like being a Draenei on the tram should get on it one day wearing stilts just before it disembarks so you don't have time to prepare for it. You'll understand why I hate it.

Fortunately, the view coming out of the Deeprun tunnel into Ironforge distracts me from the sting in my rump. For someone who spent their childhood under the open skies of Draenor - sorry, Outland - Ironforge is always impressive in my eyes. The Dwarves are truly artisans at stoneshaping and tunneling, and the massive city-under-the-mountain always fills me with wonder and amazement.

There is little time today for wonder. I have to find a Gnome in Ironforge, which is roughly the same as finding a rethul in a balankar. Maybe I can find her over at Burbik's.

I'm not sure if I should be glad that I'm right, or running in terror.

Siasha Thimblewidget. Seamstress. Storyteller.

Warlock.

And right now, impossibly loud for her size.

"NO! I ordered 200 threadcount linen! This is only 198! DEFECTIVE!"

Siasha is disarmingly adorable; a common trait among female Gnomes. It's that innate cuteness that makes you want to scoop her up and just hug her until she turns blue. The problem with that is, she'll set you on fire and curse your burning body into oblivion first. The short fuse is the Warlock part of her, and right now, that fuse has been lit. I can see her diminutive form, slightly contorted with Gnomish rage, slowly surround itself with flames. Inside Burbik's, though, that might get a little out of hand.

"Now I DEMAND that you get me the cloth that I ordered, IMMEDIATELY! I'm only mildly upset right now, and you do not want -"

"Siasha?"

"WHAT?!" She screams, rounding on me like I'm about to kick her felhunter. The flames wink out and the fel fire in her eyes dies as she recognizes me, Esmerellda standing slightly behind me (and protecting herself with her shield). "Oh, it's you. What brings you to - oh dear. Got your little lavender behind handed to you, didn't you? I can see the change in your soul." Siasha motions to indicate Esmerellda. "I guess I should thank Peaches for bringing you back. What happened?"

I came to her for help, but I don't know if I should be answering this question with complete honesty. I want to save Malyss, but I don't want an entire army behind the Fate's Legacy banner hunting her down. If Siasha knows too much, that might be what happens. "Well, you see -"

"We need to know as much as you can tell us about souls." Esmerellda steps up beside me, less fearful of our premiere Warlock now that she isn't on fire. "It's kind of important."

She looks at me, sizing me up a little, which is understandably hilarious given that I'm easily four or five times her size. I manage to keep the smirk off my face, though, and she nods.

"Well, if it's that necessary, then I'll tell you. This could take a while, so let's find a place to talk. Dwarves aren't terribly fond of Warlocks, and even less so when we're talking shop, so I'll meet you back in Dalaran. That is, when I'm finished here."

Poor Burbik. He might be out of business after today.

Esmerellda and I found Siasha sitting at her favorite table at A Hero's Welcome. It's tucked away under a staircase, which blocks the table from the daylight and keeps her well-hidden from most others entering the establishment.

It would be truly scary if I didn't know that she has to push the table under the staircase every time she comes here.

We take up the other two chairs she brought over for us, and I watch as she looks around to make sure nobody is watching before she turns back to us and smiles in typical Siasha fashion. Her bark really is worse than her bite.

"Souls, hmm? Well, I'll try to explain this to you. And I'll try to use... smaller words." I roll my eyes a little and shake my head, but she plows right on. "First off, if you want to know how to put a soul back into a body, ask Peaches there. That's her area of expertise, not mine. I'm only interested in taking them out. Well, with one exception."

Es is the first one to speak up. "Exception? What are you talking about?"

"Soulstones, of course. You see, soulstones create a metaphysical link between the soul and the body by impressing the aural image and personality index of the target onto the stone. This creates a tie between the living body and the spiritual self that, upon a person's death, can be invoked by a remote call from a spiritual guide to return the soul to the body and trigger a restart of the system."

I look at Es, she looks at me, and we both turn to Siasha, blinking in confusion.

She has the good grace to at least look abashed. "Oops, sorry. Small words. Right." She pauses a moment to think, clears her throat, and tries again. "Soulstones keep the soul with the body. They don't allow the soul to escape, and can trigger the reanimation process... oops. Sorry."

I shrug apologetically at her, and she sighs in frustration. "We could go on like this all day. Why are you curious about souls all of a sudden, anyway?"

Esmerellda and I share an uncomfortable glance,

"This is about Malyss." Siasha makes a face, one I've made myself many times when I wasn't looking forward to something. "I was afraid of that."

Siasha sighs, looking away for a moment. Turning back to face us, she shakes her head. "I don't know if you want to hear this, but ever since she came back from Outland, I noticed something different about her. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the change in her frightened me. On top of that, she made my fingers itch. I kept wanting to throw demon bindings on her, even though she isn't one. She had such a good soul after you brought her back from Light's Hope. Well, for a Death Knight, anyway. I don't know what happened."

I frown. This isn't what I expected to hear, and the look I give Siasha says as much. "I think she's been corrupted, Siasha. I have to help her... I have to find a way to get her back. I need you to help me figure out how."

Siasha stares into her lap at her folded hands for a few minutes. "I hoped this day would never come. I'm just glad that Esmerellda isn't asking me to help her save you."

She looks me right in the eyes, as cold and determined as I've ever seen her before. "We have much to talk about, Lelissa. But for you to understand, I have to tell you what I see when I look at others."

A Public Safety Announcement.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:36:00 +0000

Flame Leviathan + 4 towers SUCKS. It is the biggest, most ridiculous cluster%&#$ that you'll ever participate in, at least until you get to...

PUSH THAT GODDAMN BUTTON IN MIMIRON'S ROOM.

If you have guildmates who have issues with standing in the fire, try this hard mode encounter, and make them kite the flames. They'll either learn not to stand in the stuff EVER AGAIN, or you'll get plenty of laughs as they run around flailing and die.

Only you can prevent tree-form Druid fires.

Friday Fiction - Fall From Grace, Part 3 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:52:00 +0000

In case you missed them, here are Part 1 and Part 2.

Elwynn Forest is quiet; the Defias stay hidden, and the murlocs don't dare to venture too near.

Must be the armor.

I've been trying to think of a solution all morning, but it's plainly obvious that I have no expertise in this matter. I need help, and I need information. I'm just not sure I'm properly equipped to deal with the person who can provide both. Ready or not, though, I don't have much choice.

"So where are we going?" Esmerellda is obviously curious, but this is the first question she has asked all morning. Probably because I've been lost in thought and barely seem to be paying attention to where we're going. Esmerellda doesn't mind following along on our various adventures, but there is always a defined purpose behind them. Right now, I'm sure she thinks we're just wandering aimlessly.

"But 'Lissa, we're lost. We've been wandering around in Terokkar for hours now, and you still don't know how to get back to Shattrath. I told you we should have just waited for father."

Lelissa sighed, shaking her head. "But we couldn't just wait for father. We weren't supposed to be at the Temple today at all. He forbade us to go, but you just had to go see Boros' promotion ceremony. I know you want to be a paladin, 'Nessa, but was it really that important?"

Minessa frowned, angry and impetuous, as she shoved a tree branch aside. "I don't expect you to understand. You can't touch the Light. You can't even harness Nature."

Lelissa stopped, hands clenched at her sides. Minessa's words stung, and it was hard to fight back the tears. It was bad enough that her mother was disappointed, but Minessa as well? It was too much.

Minessa winced, realizing that maybe she had spoken too hastily. She approached her twin, resting her hand on the other's shoulder. " 'Lissa, I -"

Lelissa spun, her full-armed slap catching Minessa by surprise and knocking her to the ground. Anger and fury were painted clearly on Lelissa's face, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. Lelissa just shook her head and spoke briefly before darting off into the forest, leaving Minessa where she fell. The words were tinged with venom: "I guess you don't need me, then, since you're so much better than me. You're on your own from now on."

Now I understand.

"Well, first we go to Ironforge. I have questions, and I only know one person who will have the answers. After that, we go after my sister."

Esmerellda nods, taking all of this in. Then, a followup question. "So you know where she's going?"

I nod. "I'm pretty sure. She's on her way to the Black Temple."

"I don't get it, what could she possibly want there?" I know that tone: confusion and annoyance over being confused. Esmerellda is getting frustrated, and she isn't going to like my answer. I put on my best sheepish smile, and feel myself blushing...

"I have no idea. Just call it a hunch."

Esmerellda is not pleased. "We're basing all of this on a hunch?"

"Minessa... er, Malyss and I spent a lot of time there while we grew up. We were children when those halls were still called the Temple of Karabor. Our father spent his days in the temple, and the Hand of Argus, her order and heroes, were stationed there. During her travels in outland, Malyss must have gone there looking for our father, or at the very least, others of her former order. I think... perhaps... that she was corrupted there. It makes sense that she would go back. At the very least, we might find clues."

Esmerellda is quiet for a few minutes while we walk through the gates of Stormwind, probably working through my reasoning. "Well, you may be right. It's somewhere we can start, and it's not like I have any better ideas. So who are we going to see in Ironforge?"

"The only expert I know on demons and souls. You know her."

"I do? Who... oh, no. Do we have to? She's so... abrasive."

I nod in agreement. "Sometimes, but I can't imagine anyone better for the knowledge. We have to go see Siasha."

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grades 40 - 49

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:57:00 +0000

Welcome back, class!

Last time, we were finally able to get rid of that pesky Heroic Strike and replace it with something far more useful: Slam.

This time around, we're adding our final special ability to our repertoire, and trading up flimsy chainmail for plate!

Part 1 - Abilities

Now that we're in the middle of our class sessions, it's time to stop mentioning defensive abilities. For the foreseeable future, we're just going to let them languish alongside Heroic Strike. By all means, continue to train them, but we just won't be discussing them.

Most important in this week's class is the addition of Mortal Strike to your repertoire, as well as special training that will enable you to make full use of heavy platemail without losing your strength or speed to fatigue.

Any questions?

All told, there are a total of 15 skill purchases that you'll make for the levels from 40 to 49. We're only going to be covering the ones that pertain to the Arms tree. Also, as we progress, we're only going to cover the new abilities in depth, and just mention the ones we've been using consistently up to this point. If a level gets "skipped," it's because there are only tanking abilities at that level.

Level 40

Cleave
Execute
Rend

NEW: Mortal Strike - Key Ability - The trick of this ability is that you actually have to buy the first rank as a talent; you won't pick it up from a trainer. We'll cover it later, but this is a major damage dealer as time goes on. This will be your partner and closest friend, and in return, it will bestow upon your damage meters some awesome power.

NEW: Plate Armor - It's a passive ability, but still one of the best you'll ever get. You're going to want to stick with plate as time goes on; one of the talents we'll be picking up later will make this a necessity.

Level 42

Battle Shout

Level 46

Charge
Slam

Level 48

Execute
Mortal Strike
Thunder Clap

Part 2 - Talents

This time around, we've opened up the seventh tier of Arms abilities. At level 40, you should have already picked up Mortal Strike and added it to your attack priority. Mortal Strike is one of the most fun abilities I've ever seen in the game. Not only will it hit a target for a solid amount, but it will also cut healing effects on that target by 50%. It's taken a pretty major hit as far as effectiveness in PVP, but it still has its uses.

Level 41 should finish off either Weapon Mastery or Trauma (whichever one you picked last class).

Level 42 and 43 should take both points in Weapon Mastery or Trauma (whichever one you didn't pick last class).

Level 44 and 45 should be Improved Slam. Cutting a full second of "cast time" from this ability is key, especially in fights where you'll be required to move around a lot.

Level 46 and 47 should be both points in Strength of Arms. A 4% strength increase is a big deal, but the real beauty in this ability is the 4 expertise you get for free - it's what keeps an Arms Warrior's need for expertise rating very low, which means we can put it in other stats, like critical strike rating, or armor penetration.

Level 48 can be used for Juggernaut. Being able to Charge while in combat is key, especially as time goes on. You can combine this ability with hamstring when soloing, and use another Charge as free rage generation.

Level 49 should go for the first point in Unrelenting Assault. This is a great ability for both PVE and PVP: in PVE because of the increased damage, and in PVP because of the increased damage and the cooldown reduction. "Why, hello, Mr. Rogue!" *insert multiple Overpowers here*

Part 3 - Glyphs

Nothing new until level 50 - sorry!

Part 4 - Gear

Now that we're at level 40+, we can forget about all that mail and start focusing on plate. Stick with Strength and Stamina as your focus, pick up crit and hit only if you can.

There are lots of great rare items out there for the taking; here is a good list to check out.

That's all for this week, class! Be sure to come back next week for the new glyph slot, and a fun little ability that you'll have to shift stances to use, but will grant you plenty of critical hits!

Friday Fiction - Fall From Grace, Part 2 - Pix

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Googled Executioner, #2!

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Yes, it's Friday, and Friday Fiction will be posted later today. Have no fear of that.

I figured it was time to share some new ways that people have found my site!

Crit vs. Armor Penetration Arms Warrior

Crit, definitely. Armor Pen still sucks.

How Does Armor Pen Work For Arms Warrior

Not really that great.

Warriors in Patch 3.2

We get some new toys. It's not bad. I like it.

Bug Same A Lightbug But Hole Body Glows

What the fuck? Seriously? Learn basic grammar and spelling. If not for me, at least for yourself. (Man, the education system in this country is going to Hell in a handbasket, I swear.)

Mortal Strike or Execute Glyph

Both by level 80. Mortal Strike at 30.

Where To Train Mortal Strike

It's a talent first. Once you pick that up, you can start on training new ranks when they show up.

Armour Penetration or Strength?

Hey, I've got readers using traditional English spellings rather than American ones! Cool! (Oh, and the answer is "Strength.")

WoW Hunter Armor Pen

Um... This is a warrior blog. Hunter stuff is that way. Okay? Over there. Seriously. ------->

Naked Lesbian Draenei

Okay, now I have no idea how you managed to get here with this search query, because until this post, I have NEVER mentioned the first two words of that query on this blog. As appealing as the artwork might be, it ain't here.

Thank [insert your preferred deity/belief system here], that's all there is for now. After that last one, I'm worried to see what happens next.

Friday Fiction later! Look for it!

Arms Warrior Elementary School, Grades 30 - 39

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Welcome back to class!

By now, you're all young Arms Warriors finally experiencing a little bit of your full potential. As you progress through these stages, you'll find that you gain those last few abilities you need to begin to solidify your priorities. Let's take a look.

Part 1 - Abilities

At long last, the time has arrived for you to put aside Heroic Strike and embrace its replacement. You will learn to leverage your weapon against your opponent in order to make a solid strike against their bodies, knocking the wind out of them and setting up for another clean strike. You will also experience the rush of anger that allows you to crush out feelings of fear, or resist even the most solid blows that might otherwise render you dazed.

Any questions?

Once again, we have 14 abilities to discuss. You actually get 15, but one of those ends up being a rank 1 and rank 2 in the same level stretch. Let's go ahead and get these covered.

Level 30

Cleave - Situational Ability - First, we get an upgrade to Cleave. Like most other abilities, this one improves its damage dealt for the same rage cost.

Rend - Key Ability - Rank 4 rend brings a nice improvement to the ability, and if you followed along with the talents from the start, the improved version and Taste for Blood make this ability all the sweeter.

Slam - Key Ability - Finally, the ability that allows us to put Heroic Strike anywhere but on our action bar. The actual damage output of this ability is greater and more beneficial than Heroic Strike, and we no longer have to sacrifice a rage-generating swing in place of an ability attack.

Intercept, Berserker Stance - Situational Abilities - I've lumped these two together because they're part of a quest at level 30. Honestly, you won't use Berserker stance often in PVE except for the use of Recklessness (which you get later), and Intercept works much the same way as charge, except that it costs rage, and can only be used in Berserker stance.

Level 32

Battle Shout - Key Ability - Once again, always up, unless a Retribution Paladin with Improved Blessing of Might is around.

Berserker Rage - Situational Ability - Primarily finding its place in PVP, the Berserker Rage can break/prevent Fear, break/prevent Sap and Incapacitate effects, and generates more Rage upon taking damage. When soloing, this is a handy ability to use to ensure that you're not Rage-starved, but in a PVE situation, rarely will this ability find any use unless there's something out there that causes area-effect damage, or if you're the target of an ability.

Execute - Key Ability - Another upgrade to a primary ability in our arsenal. Just wait until you get Sudden Death.

Heroic Strike - Belongs in the Garbage - Throw it out. In fact, we're not even talking about this anymore. It's dead to us.

Level 34

Demoralizing Shout - Situational Ability - Another situational that gets a boost, it can be handy, but in my experience, affects other players in PVP best. Raid bosses not so much.

Revenge - Situational Ability - Tanking abilities again.

Level 36

Whirlwind - Situational Ability - This is a handy ability, but it only works in Berserker Stance. In the days of Burning Crusade, when even an Arms Warrior never left Berserker, this got a lot of use. These days, not so much - sure, you could stance-dance into it, but with one of the talents coming up that you're about to take, I wouldn't bother.

Level 38

Thunder Clap - NPW/FDT Ability - Leave this one to the tanks.

Pummel - Situational Ability - This one was pretty handy for spell interruption, but stance-dancing into Berserker just to be able to use this and then back to Battle seems a little unnecessary, and a lot ridiculous.

Slam - Key Ability - Upgraded Slam? Win.

Part 2 - Talents

Finishing up last time left us with the fifth tier of talents open in the Arms tree. We're still not touching Fury for a while, so get used to it.

Level 30 gives us Sweeping Strikes. Not only is it a requirement for the final attack in our repertoire (Mortal Strike), but the effects you can get with it on a Cleave is phenomenal.

Level 31 through 35 gives us Poleaxe Specialization. See, I'm a sucker for the critical strike chance boost, and axes do tend to strike a little more fear into some hearts than swords and maces do. Even with the changes to Armor Penetration at the end game, I'm still convinced that it's best to continue along the same path we've been treading all this time - hit to cap, expertise to (an extremely reduced) cap, strength and critical strike out the wazoo.

Levels 36, 37, and 38 takes us a step back as we grab three points in Two-Handed Weapon Specialization. Some might scoff at this talent, but the way I see it, 6% more damage with Two-Handed Weapons means all attacks are boosted. More damage on white attacks means more rage. More damage on special attacks means things die faster. It's a good thing.

Level 39 can go one of two ways. The PVP-inclined among you might choose Weapon Mastery, which reduces the dodge chance of your opponent by 1%, and reduces any disarm effects against you by 25%. The more PVE inclined might take Trauma, which will increase the effectiveness of bleeds on your target. The way I see it, you'll be getting both of them anyway, so if you don't have a preference, just pick one.

Part 3 - Glyphs

Finally, a new major glyph slot.

Because you don't have Mortal Strike yet, the Glyph really won't work for you. You could take the Glyph of Execution, but the problem with that is that you're still looking at not having Sudden Death until level 50, so it would only work when your opponents are below 20% health. In my opinion, you can afford to take the Glyph of Mortal Strike and let it be useless for one level. Let the Glyph of Execution wait for level 80. That's when it will really matter anyway.

Part 4 - Gear

We're still sticking with Strength/Stamina gear here. That won't change.

Try this list on for size.

That's all for this week, class! Tune in next time where we get to add the final ability to our priority list, and scare the hell out of healing classes in the process!

Saturday Sideshow, July 5 - July 11

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelated Executioner) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Welcome back to the Sideshow!

Since I get to go home early from the office today, we've got some humor, some strategy, and some charity! Check out these reads, and if you can, be sure to donate to the SPCA on behalf of Mend Pet for the animals. It's a good cause.

Paladin PVE Armor: Past, Present, and Future from Antherwina's Corner
The Amazing Races! from Aspect of the Hare
Yes Sammy, Even the Pretty Ones from Brain Needed Space
From Beyond, She Comes from Confessions of an Altoholic
"Need More Stable Slots!" SPCA Charity Drive & Giveaway from Mend Pet
Orbit-uary: Flame Leviathan Four Towers (Hard Mode) Guide from Mirror Shield (This one is for the Purgatory crew - we dropped 3 Towers last night! Woo!)
Disenchants into Faildust from Standing at the Back in My Sissy Robe
A Treatise on Battlegrounds from Through the Eyes of Death

Enjoy!