BHA Raids 07.25 - 08.01 Raids Posted *Update 2.0*

Fact: we're the best at games.

For the record, I had an absolute blast last night. Thanks for (a) being patient with my noobishness and my almost complete lack of discernable DPS, (b) not letting me die all that often, and (c) letting me grab all of the shiny new purplez.

I'd be up for another go once I grab a chaos orb (for my engineering hat) and about 1K more JPs (for a second T11 piece).

Glad you had fun, Enix!

Last night was a lot of fun, a nice mix of accomplishment and things going really, really South.

Enix wrote:

For the record, I had an absolute blast last night. Thanks for (a) being patient with my noobishness and my almost complete lack of discernable DPS, (b) not letting me die all that often, and (c) letting me grab all of the shiny new purplez.

I'd be up for another go once I grab a chaos orb (for my engineering hat) and about 1K more JPs (for a second T11 piece).

Glad we didn't scare you off. You did just fine.

And I'm a massive idiot. Realizing that next weekend is my wife's birthday reminded me that this is the weekend she's going out of town and I'm supposed to be picking her up at the airport around 5:30 PM. Which is 7:30 PM server time. So yeah, I very clearly will be unavailable to shoot people in the face at that time. Very sorry!

(Of course, chances are I'll be more available for heroics or whatever the rest of the weekend as a result of spousal abandonment. )

zeroKFE wrote:

And I'm a massive idiot...Which is 7:30 PM server time. So yeah, I very clearly will be unavailable to shoot people in the face at that time. Very sorry!

We'll put Selika on as DPS then. Zero, if you could be around on Thursday evening as back-up it'd be awesome.

We should see some decent progress on Beth on Sunday. Perhaps not a kill, but my money is on us learning what we need to do to get it done.

Act, please bring a heal spec on Sunday. We might want Grinds on add control/AoE slaughter.

We'll put Selika on as DPS then. Zero, if you could be around on Thursday evening as back-up it'd be awesome.

Will do.

As I've been mentioning in my availability posts, since it would be the second weekday night this week I might have to leave closer to 9:30 than 10 if I am needed to fill in, but other than that caveat I'll be available should you need the backup on Thursday.

tundra wrote:

Glad we didn't scare you off.

Note that I didn't mention Cheeto's singing.

If I'm not mistaken, it was raining fire (and poison and other nasty things), not men.

Then again, I was burning holes in my monitor watching for Divine Purpose procs and wouldn't have noticed if it were raining men, dwarf corpses or dragon parts.

Got my 4 piece heals set this morning, so I should see a better return on mana for the druid now. I'm game for heals or dps, whichever is needed.

Enix wrote:

Then again, I was burning holes in my monitor watching for Divine Purpose procs and wouldn't have noticed if it were raining men, dwarf corpses or dragon parts.

There are a bunch of addons that can help with such things. One of the most well-known is one called CLCRet (The Retribution FCFS [First Come, First Serve] Helper). It basically displays a bunch of icons to show you what it thinks you should hit next, based on things like Inquisition duration, amount of holy power, and various procs. There are a whole bunch of customizable options, if that's your thing, but it actually works fairly well right out of the box (so to speak).

I think you've pointed that out before, Kel, and I've resisted so far. I'm using a button macro (PowerAura? - it's packaged with my UI) that lights up Exo, Zeal, TV and Inq at various times.

The one thing I'm really struggling with is Inquisition. I'd love to have something small that I can put right in the middle of my screen that tells me whether it's up and, if it is, how much longer I've got. Right now, it appears in a list (with 50 other buffs and procs) on the far left of my screen, so it isn't much help.

I'm thinking something like this? I'm wondering if anyone has used this (or TellMeWhen, which looks similar).

Enix wrote:

I think you've pointed that out before, Kel, and I've resisted so far. I'm using a button macro (PowerAura? - it's packaged with my UI) that lights up Exo, Zeal, TV and Inq at various times.

The one thing I'm really struggling with is Inquisition. I'd love to have something small that I can put right in the middle of my screen that tells me whether it's up and, if it is, how much longer I've got. Right now, it appears in a list (with 50 other buffs and procs) on the far left of my screen, so it isn't much help.

I'm thinking something like this? I'm wondering if anyone has used this (or TellMeWhen, which looks similar).

Powerauras does this. I have several of my druid healling spells do exactly like you say. Check this out:
http://powerauras.wikispaces.com/Pal...

Keldar wrote:
Enix wrote:

Then again, I was burning holes in my monitor watching for Divine Purpose procs and wouldn't have noticed if it were raining men, dwarf corpses or dragon parts.

There are a bunch of addons that can help with such things. One of the most well-known is one called CLCRet (The Retribution FCFS [First Come, First Serve] Helper). It basically displays a bunch of icons to show you what it thinks you should hit next, based on things like Inquisition duration, amount of holy power, and various procs. There are a whole bunch of customizable options, if that's your thing, but it actually works fairly well right out of the box (so to speak).

Yeah Jorrn I've mentioned that to you awhile ago. Check it out. Use it until you get a rotation down. Also I have an addon(forget the name) that highlights my actionbar button whenever something procs.

Also I have an addon(forget the name) that highlights my actionbar button whenever something procs.

I think that functionality is now part of the standard UI, at least for some abilities, as is a very light version of PowerAuras (again, only for very specific abilities). However, nothing compares to the real thing. I would be an absolute sh*t player without my PowerAuras. It's a pain in the ass to configure, but its ability to get highly customized informational displays in front of your face is second to none. There are many class specific mods out there that can help do the same thing, but at least for my hunter I've never found anything nearly as useful as my own personally constructed set of PowerAuras.

And while we're talking about addons -- my general philosophy for UI personalization is that I want to get all the combat related important information presented as close to the center of the screen as possible without adversely affecting my ability to see what's happening around my toon.

PowerAuras, IceHUD, a cast bar mod, TidyFrames, and a scrolling combat text mod (Mik's, if I remember correctly) are the key elements that let me achieve that philosophy. Of course, I do also have a lot of information arrayed around the edges of my screen as well (Fubar plus a million plugins, Xperl, Recount, and Bartender primarily) but if I ever need to look at that during heated combat then I have a problem. For example, the button bar mod is there to provide a quick way to adjust keybinds and to organize easy access to rarely used abilities and buff items -- however, I don't look at it during combat. I memorize my keybinds, and use PowerAuras to let me know when abilities are ready to use (while arraying the auras on screen in a way that corresponds to the key position on your keyboard).

Oh, and one other potentially useful tip for a new raider: the default keybinds are stupid and wasteful of keyboard space. If you haven't already, consider reconfiguring your bindings to use the keys directly around your movement keys for useful things. If you use your mouse for turning (and you probably do), then the strafe buttons are useless since the keyboard turn buttons become strafe while mouse turning, so use Q and E for something important instead. The sit, sheath/unsheath weapons, and character panel functions are similarly wasting good keyboard real estate on Z, X, and C. But anyway, the more you consolidate your keybinds so that you can hit every ability important to combat without moving your hands off your movement keys, the more likely you will be to hit all those abilities at exactly the moment they are called for and the less likely you are to stand in something your shouldn't stand in for too long.

Bill Bonney wrote:

Also I have an addon(forget the name) that highlights my actionbar button whenever something procs.

I've got the same thing. It also shows CDs of various moves. That's why I've resisted CLC -- I'm not sure it's going to add anything I don't already have.

@ Grinds: Thanks for the tip on Power Auras. I'll see if I can configure one for Inquisition tonight while you guys are kicking the crap out of some dungeon.

Update for grinds on Sunday... there is a 95.7% chance I will not be available now. Need a dps or heals to cover for me if possible. (that is if act is willing to heal)

tundra wrote:

Update for grinds on Sunday... there is a 95.7% chance I will not be available now. Need a dps or heals to cover for me if possible. (that is if act is willing to heal)

Our only real option is Gannon. He'll bring the Replen we need to have a shot. So Gannon it is.

Good news, Gannon. You're our last choice!

He's a class act, our ELewis.

Enix wrote:
Bill Bonney wrote:

Also I have an addon(forget the name) that highlights my actionbar button whenever something procs.

I've got the same thing. It also shows CDs of various moves. That's why I've resisted CLC -- I'm not sure it's going to add anything I don't already have.

Basically what CLC does is it adds a pair of icons that you can move around the screen. The icons represent the next two abilities you should be hitting. For example, if you have 3 Holy Power and Inquisition has 2 seconds left, and you have no current procs running, it'll show Inquisition followed by Crusader Strike. The icons change dynamically as things happen - for example, if you get an Art of War proc, it'll throw in Exorcism; if you get a Divine Purpose proc, it'll suggest Templar's Verdict or Inquisition.

You can't click on the icons - they're not buttons, just pictures to show you what you should be doing. But it's a good way to get you used to the method of how Ret DPS works - instead of you having to stop and think about what's going on and trying to figure out which proc is most important right now and how much Holy Power you have and what your Inquisition duration is, you just look at the icon and hit the right button. It not only helps get you used to figuring out where those buttons are and when you should be hitting which one, but leaves you a little more time to think about other things (like watching for fire that might be under your feet).

oilypenguin wrote:

Good news, Gannon. You're our last choice!

He's a class act, our ELewis.

Its OK, Youko told me to be mean to him.

Seriously though, it wasn't supposed to sound bad at all. We just can't do progression without the Replen buff. So if Grinds is golfing we need an SPriest to be able to raid on Sunday.

ELewis17 wrote:

Its OK, Youko told me to be mean to him.

Seriously though, it wasn't supposed to sound bad at all. We just can't do progression without the Replen buff. So if Grinds is golfing we need an SPriest to be able to raid on Sunday.

Yes, because heaven forbid we ask one of the two mages joining us to go Frost, or even switch Act and Selika so Rant can let people die with his 70% mana again.

(For what it's worth, I think Gannon is a good choice anyway. And I don't care if Youko says to be mean to him or not.)

one time!

Either Fin or myself can roll frost...I've seen Fin put up some serious numbers as frost, so I don't think we'd be opposed to it. I will say however, that arcane hits real hard, and we'll probably be losing some DPS if we go frost. Just saying...

[quote=zeroKFE]

Oh, and one other potentially useful tip for a new raider: the default keybinds are stupid and wasteful of keyboard space. If you haven't already, consider reconfiguring your bindings to use the keys directly around your movement keys for useful things. If you use your mouse for turning (and you probably do), then the strafe buttons are useless since the keyboard turn buttons become strafe while mouse turning, so use Q and E for something important instead. The sit, sheath/unsheath weapons, and character panel functions are similarly wasting good keyboard real estate on Z, X, and C. But anyway, the more you consolidate your keybinds so that you can hit every ability important to combat without moving your hands off your movement keys, the more likely you will be to hit all those abilities at exactly the moment they are called for and the less likely you are to stand in something your shouldn't stand in for too long.

Also you can keybind your buttons on your mouse (I have a Logitech G5). I use my back button for interupts and the top two buttons for my cds.
As for keyboard don't use one, I use the Logitech G13 which is all I need.

ELewis17 wrote:

Its OK, Youko told me to be mean to him.

where is the like button on here?

Might wanna put it on Guild msg of the day to remind him the he has a raid sunday, if i dont keep reminding him every 5 sec he'd forget.......he already forgot he has a raid tonight soon as he close the window.

Youko wrote:

Might wanna put it on Guild msg of the day to remind him the he has a raid sunday, if i dont keep reminding him every 5 sec he'd forget.......he already forgot he has a raid tonight soon as he close the window.

That might not be a bad idea....I was already starting to look at theater times for a movie tonight XD

Oh...and I'm just gonna assume that "last choice" was a typo for "best choice".....jerk.

zeroKFE wrote:

PowerAuras, IceHUD, a cast bar mod, TidyFrames, and a scrolling combat text mod (Mik's, if I remember correctly) are the key elements that let me achieve that philosophy. Of course, I do also have a lot of information arrayed around the edges of my screen as well (Fubar plus a million plugins, Xperl, Recount, and Bartender primarily) but if I ever need to look at that during heated combat then I have a problem.

The cast bar mod I use and love is AzCastBar...it's simple and easy to use...I just make one setting I like for my dps and load it for all and same for my tanks. TidyFrames is awesome..I originally got it for tanking but fell in love with it for dpsing as well. Mik's is the scrolling combat text to get...it's very easy to customize how and where your visuals act. Instead of Xperl, I started using Shadowed Unit Frames and found that I thought it was easier to use when customizing...but to each his own on that one.

zeroKFE wrote:

Oh, and one other potentially useful tip for a new raider: the default keybinds are stupid and wasteful of keyboard space. If you haven't already, consider reconfiguring your bindings to use the keys directly around your movement keys for useful things. If you use your mouse for turning (and you probably do), then the strafe buttons are useless since the keyboard turn buttons become strafe while mouse turning, so use Q and E for something important instead. The sit, sheath/unsheath weapons, and character panel functions are similarly wasting good keyboard real estate on Z, X, and C. But anyway, the more you consolidate your keybinds so that you can hit every ability important to combat without moving your hands off your movement keys, the more likely you will be to hit all those abilities at exactly the moment they are called for and the less likely you are to stand in something your shouldn't stand in for too long.

I was a clicker for a couple years until I started tanking on a bear tank and began failing. When I reach for number keys, my fingers get lost...Kinda like Grinds when he's not standing in bad stuff....though that's not very often....easiest way for me to transition to keybinding was to use the keys I already used....ie....my movement keys. Some people hate my keybindings but I use shift + awsd along with qerzc spacebar and mouse buttons and all those except movement keys without the shift key. I can still be limited on how many keys I can push compared to others but I beat my stubborness for once and learned this keybinding that has made my WoW experience become much more WOW!!

I may post a screen shot one day but I tend to get jeered for my combination and placement of addons along with my keybindings...lol....I gotta listen to it each time Youko walks her butt over here.....best I can say is find your groove and do what works for you....I'm still learning stuff almost 6 years later after my eyes bugged out from seeing Orgrimmar for the first time.

The cast bar mod I use and love is AzCastBar

Ah yes, that's the one I use as well -- couldn't remember the name of it. Quartz was always too fiddly, and at least the last time I used it was crappy at the thing I wanted from it most: a good, reliable GCD display.

Update: I'm apparently not as smart as Grinds when it comes to PowerAuras -- I DL'd it but couldn't get it to work. I even imported the ret paladin command string you linked to. No go.

So I tried NeedtoKnow (it's on Curse), and it worked like the proverbial charm. Now I've got a handy Inquisition timer bar in the center-bottom of my screen, right above my action bars and just to the left of my Holy Power monitor.

Now to perfect a rotation that lets me keep Inquisition up 100 percent of the time (or close).

P.S.; GANNON, YOU HAVE A RAID SUNDAY. That is all.