Niadel-Hunter-Marksman [Transfer]

[Niadel]

Section I: Your Character (Main)

1. Name, Race, Level:

Niadel, Night Elf, 80.


2. Class & Spec :

Hunter, Marksman.


3. What are your professions and why did you choose them?

Leatherworking, Jewelcrafting.
I have been LW since day 1 playing wow. I do understand that blacksmiting is the preferred 2nd profession to JC for the extra socket, however i have way too many rare patterns to have considered dropping LW. Everything from zg, timbermaw and molton core to most of the ICC patterns. On my present server i have been someone who is a known crafter for old friends and new players alike for 4 years now.

My second profession has been a rotating door depending on the expansion, i dropped alchemy for the JC only gems which have provided a nice increase to my dps output.


4. Please provide a link to your armory.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Tanaris&cn=Niadel


5. Tell us something about your class (ex. rotation, class strengths/weakness etc)?

Hunters have come a very long way from vanilla. it's been a rollercoaster of "put your pet away stupid hunter" to "lol steadyshotmacro" to our most recent incarnation of "OMG SO MANY BUTTONS TO MASH". My class is an ever evolving entity that rarely disappoints. A few months ago i would have said one of our greatest weaknesses was our range, when the "group up to make healing more efficient" strategy was an impossibility for us with 15 yard range. With the alteration to steady shot so as to not clip our auto shot and the decreased range, our greatest strength as a class has become our ability to remain mobile while pumping out none to shabby dps. Our mobility leaves very few excuses for standing in fire or not moving when a particle effect comes hurtling our way!


Section II: Ingame Experience / Raiding

6. Describe your previous raiding experience on this character and any others you have raided on:

Nia has been my main for 4 years.
In vanilla i raided in molten core (was never able to get Ragnaros) and AQ 20 (cleared through Ossirian).
Burning Crusade Cleared everything Through Mother before the great nerf patch of 3.0. Post nerf, kills of Illidari Council, KT, Kalecgos and Brutallus.
Was also part of a solid 10 man group that accumulated a sizable bear cavalry in ZA.
In Wrath i have cleared Naxx (10 and 25) Maly, Sarth 3d, Glory of the Ulduar Raider(10 and 25), ToC 10 Insanity, ToC 25 Madd skill (My guild has realm first insanity but i was unable to attend that night due to RL conflict and we have never gone back to do it again), ICC 10 11/12-10H 2/12, ICC 25 11/12.


7. Do you have previous experience in a leadership role / position in a raid guild? If so, describe what you did and how you liked / performed in that position:

Yes. I have been a founding officer in my present guild as well as the guild before this one. I was also a class leader during vanilla and early bc raids. My roles and duties have varied depending on the needs of the guild. At times I have been a raid leader, researching, calling out timers and coordinating roles for encounters. I have also done DKP, including bids, updating addon and website, and handing out loot(of all my varied responsibilities over time this job was my least favorite. I am bad at math and the available dkp addons make me want to smash my head repeatedly into a desk). I have been a mediator of disputes and have been perfectly willing to take on the role of the "bad guy" when its needed, as well as "the good guy" when its deserved. I have managed the guild bank, making sure there are potions and flasks available to our raiders. I have been a teacher of new players and a learner from those who are better than myself. I have been a forum admin for 2 guilds, and am well versed in HTML and BBCode.
I have greatly enjoyed the opportunities and responsibilities officership has provided for me. If asked to do so again, however, i would politely turn down the offer. I have grown immensely weary of the constant demands on my time that being an officer entails, and as my real life has changed during the last 4 years i do not have the time available that i did when i was an undergrad, or even a grad student. I have a full time real life job, i dont want wow to be a second full time job that im not being paid for.


8. Our raid schedule is Wednesday 8:00-12:00 EST, Sunday 8:00-12:00 EST and Monday 8:00-12:00 EST.

PERFECT!!


9. If you were previously a member of another guild, please name the guild and describe why you left (this isn't a mark against you, it's just to help us understand you better as a player):

Before Business Time(my present guild) I was an Officer in Tabula Rasa. TR was my guild for the majority of BC and into ulduar up to XT. During BC we were the #2 guild on our server and a complete success. Once Wrath hit, we lost raiders to disinterest and lack of leveling ability, but managed to keep a semblance of a raid group together. However, our GM took an extended break from the game and 2 factions arose in our officer core. Those who wished to move towards a more casual playstyle, and those who wished to keep our BC pace. Without the vital GM vote and after months of wiping on easy bosses with players who were unaware of their surroundings, their best possible specs and gems, and unwilling to take any amount of criticism, a few of us hit the point of no return. We split off to form Business Time, and although i lost some friends i have never once regretted my actions. I tried my best to assist players having trouble, I searched the forums for articles they could look at to gain more knowledge of their classes and mechanics, i mediated thousands of fights between guilds members. But in the end, the loss of our GM for months and her not leaving anyone else "in charge" during her absence caused people to become lax with no fear of repercussions for their actions. From something as simple as a mage showing up in pvp frost spec, to players not showing up to raids at all. No matter how hard a single person might try to bail out a sinking ship, without help that boat is going down.


10. Please post a screenshot of your UI. (http://www.photobucket.com is a good image hosting site if you need one) In addition please list your most common keybinds as they can be difficult to see.

http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k350/Niadel/WoW/ScreenShot_030810_154739.jpg?t=1268091088

I use a Razer Naga mouse, so all of my abilities are bound to the 12 side buttons, with ctrl and alt as modifiers. The default keybinds for it are the num pad. The only thing i manually activate through my keyboard(or sometimes clicking, not gonna lie) are my speed/wild magic pots, and that is bound to my num pad key -


11. Please post any and all World of Logs/WWS/WMO reports you have. If your guild doesn't log raids it is STRONGLY suggested you log a raid yourself and upload it. This is the easiest way for us to judge you as a player without making you waste $25. Help

http://www.worldoflogs.com/guilds/7651/
My guild has stopped raiding, so you'll probably have to go back to February for comparison parses.


12. Greatly Exaggerated is a hardcore raiding guild. What this means is that we expect the very best out of every single raider. Those that do not perform as such, and those that decide to not show up randomly will be dealt with accordingly. We are here to progress. Is this something you can get behind?

Absolutely.


Section III: 011100100010010110111:

13. Do you have a reliable internet connection? Are you prone to DCing or lagging during raids?

My internet is super reliable, no lag or dc's during raids. Normally run at 18 latency.


14. What type of computer do you have? (i.e. Are you going to be useless the second AOE begins?)

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM81.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.29f1
Serial Number (system): W881959EZE3
Hardware UUID: 74B708B7-5B94-565B-B87E-E6F26A200C7C

I run an average of 75 fps during 25 mans, using 11mb of addon space. I run at full effects (minus shadows, they make me dizzy).


Section IV: You (No, really, the RL version)

15. How old are you? (age?)

I am 27, but if you tell anyone i might have to kill you. I stopped aging at 25.


16. Why do you play WoW? What is the #1 "fun" thing you get out of the game?

I love to kill internet dragons. Before there were internet dragons i killed dragons with pen and paper. I love the sensation of a group of people working together towards a common goal, and than achieving that goal. The feeling of downing that boss that the previous day (or sometimes weeks) kicked you ass is better than almost anything else life has to offer.


17. What other things do you enjoy / do for fun?

I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and window shopping. My ultimate goal is world peace...i kid, i kid.
In reality i am an active musician and writer, i love a good friday night pub crawl. During the summers i play on a bar league softball team, and go to as many renaissance faire's as possible.


18. If someone asked you to describe an event where you thought you proved your maturity and drive to yourself (and those around you), which event would you choose and why?

Using a non wow related experience here.
For the last year i have been working as a freelance writer and editor for Harper-Collins. Recently i was given the opportunity to join their staff full time. The catch? Had to work with some random person i had never met before or seen any of his work. We split the project up with the intention of coming together 1 week before deadline to unify the project under a single writing style (yes this is ghostwriting at its finest). 2 days before we were going to meet, my partners appendix exploded. BAM! IM SCREWED.
For about 20 hours i wallowed in self pity and booze.
Waking up from a stupor 6 days before deadline i realized i wanted this job more than id ever wanted anything. Ever. So i packed my computer up, headed to the hospital where he was laid out on an immense amount of morphine and antibiotics, got his house keys, went to his house picked up his laptop, rented a hotel room 2 blocks from the office, and worked my ass off.
Ever have that paper that was due the next morning? or a thesis you still dont have a conclusion for? Multiply that by a 2 thousand page book only half written and a looming deadline that meant a full time job or back to the freelance rat race.
In 5 days i finished the book, edited it myself, had a copy bound (with artwork) and on my bosses desk at 8:57 am. YOUR HIRED!
Turns out in the insanity of my 5 day adventure my boss had called me to give us an extension on the project due to mitigating circumstances. I never got the message. When he had offered me this opportunity he had offered the same goal to 3 other pairs of writers. Despite my partner nearly dying, i was the only one who had completed the task to specification and met the deadline.


19. What makes you special or sets you apart over other applicants? In short, why should we recruit you? (Note: "I do good DPS" is not anything especially special)

I am a goal oriented person. Over the course of my academic, business and wow careers i have a had to fight tooth and nail for every scrap i could get my hands on. I do not give up easily and will work till i drop to improve myself. If i make a mistake i will admit it readily and never make that mistake again. I understand that raiding is a team effort and the team is only as strong as its weakest player. The weakest player will never be me, or, if for some god awful reason it is me, i will not be offended if i am sat. I wish for nothing more than the success of whatever guild i am part of.


Section V: The Only Important Question

19. What is your position on Murlocs?
SSC murlocs=BAD
baby murlocs from borean tundra= OMG WANT

[Wiliamwalace]

Have some questions but we are mid raid til 12 est.

[Niadel]

NP ask away when your done. I am also EST and should be around till well after midnight.

[Wiliamwalace]

Feel free to try to beat Honan's high score of 86,173

http://games.adultswim.com/robot-unicor ... -game.html

[Niadel]

thankyou, this is possibly one of the best flash games EVER. i dont know about 80k, but after try 3 ive laughed my ass off and hit 20k. i think the music really makes an impact here.

you have destroyed any thoughts of productivity i had tonight

[phocas]

Few questions:

What do you use to keep up with your class/spec/gear/etc?

I am looking at the Saurfang logs, did you and the other hunter have the same job? How do you personally handle the blood beasts on Saurfang? Anything you would do different for the heroic version of that fight? (please be specific for all questions)

Are you a clicker or masher? What keys/buttons do you have chim/AS/SS bound to?

What is the next upgrade you want/need the most?

[Sanctume]

What is your rotation for both specs?

How do you go about gear upgrades, gemming ect? Why

How do you maximize your dps on high movement fights that involve target switches?

Why did your other hunter beat you on some fights?

Tell me something that you feel is your biggest weakness as a player(Not the Class) your own flaw while playing that you wish to improve upon?

[Niadel]

Are you a clicker or masher? What keys/buttons do you have chim/AS/SS bound to?

This might help in my explanations...


It's not a raid environment but it can give you an idea of what i see in combat. I use a razer naga mouse which was gift from my boyfriend for our anniversary in January (he was sick of hearing me complain about my previous mouse, which was on more than one occasion tossed remarkably close to his head in a fit) Im not going to lie it has been a HUGE deal getting used to it, and i am still not 100% on hitting the right button at the right time. All of my abilities with the exception of a single bar that holds my pet skills, mounts and a few varied macros, are bound to the mouse. With control, alt and shift as modifiers. (pay no attention to the wild magic pots, i was doing some testing the other day with srs and crit)

What do you use to keep up with your class/spec/gear/etc?

I am a devotee of EJ, although i will not blindly follow something that is stated in the forums and tout it to be "the absolutely final word on hunters" until i have tried it out and compared it to my previous performance. I have also been lucky enough to raid with some of the best hunters i have ever known and their opinions and camaraderie have gone a very long way to making all of us better players.

I am looking at the Saurfang logs, did you and the other hunter have the same job? How do you personally handle the blood beasts on Saurfang? Anything you would do different for the heroic version of that fight?

I am the main distracting shot bitch. Also, our raid placement in the fight is very different. How we have done the fight is with ranged in assigned places, i drew the unlucky card and get to stand right up close to the action. I loose alot of dps time both getting the hell away from the bests i have just distracting shot and getting back into position while avoiding people who have been blood nova'd. In this crazed insanity of keeping everyone else alive my SrS will fall off the boss, resulting in a giant heaping loss of dps. In the wol's you will notice the other hunter has a higher up time on the boss as he is (by design) not as focused on controlling the adds.
Since i have been placed up close and personal to the fight, i will always lay a frost trap down a few seconds before the timer for beasts goes off. when they pop we have a set order in which to kill them we always start with the left side and work our way across (though once they get out into the playing field its a matter more of communication and quick marking than actual assignment). i will distract our first target, target a second add and attempt to gain threat and and disengage away. Once my cd is off for distracting i will pull whatever beast is closest to a dps away (this usually ends up being one of our mages) and use concussive to slow it down. This is repeated till the bests are dead. on an average encounter we carry enough mages, dks and pallies that 2 distractings are usually enough. Since, however, i have disengaged myself WAY THE HELL away from where i need to be standing, it is a matter of stutter stepping my way back to my position to do it all over again in like 5 seconds. (grumblegrumble im physical dps and should be allowed to remain on the boss and only drop a trap QQQQQQQQQQQQ)

For the heroic version of this fight there is no way i would ever agree to stand where i do for our normal mode. base of stairs= instant death to scent of blood. I would continue to move forward at the appropriate intervals to drop a trap but hastily retreat to max range so i can distracting without immediately eating it. I would also hope that on heroic more focus would be placed on control of the bloodbeasts. Concussive shot would be a higher priority than it presently is, and disengage saved for "OH SHIT ITS COMING RIGHT FOR ME" moments. As i have not yet attempted this fight on heroic i cannot test out these theories.

*********EDIT*******
after some sleep and a few hours of work im thinking its probably a good idea to swap some talent points into improved range for this fight. with 25 people the 12 yards becomes fairly tight, and the farther away i can get clears more room for those poor squishy casters. Shoot me down if im wrong.
**end edit

What is the next upgrade you want/need the most?

The next upgrade i am looking for would be the Logsplitters. With those i would swap my legs to the t9 to keep the bonus until i could get all 4 pieces of sanctified. As for drops, Either the Oathbinder from LK or, more reasonable, the Scourge Hunter's Vambraces from gunship.

Its now 4am and i defiantly need a couple hours sleep before work. I will answer your questions, Sanctume, in the morning after ive had some coffee

[Niadel]

What is your rotation for both specs?

For the last nearly 6 months i have been using a dual spec of MM so it has been a very long time since ive played as survival in raid environment. My secondary MM spec is more for 10 mans and takes one point in focused aim (not always a draeneai) and trueshot aura (not always a shaman or dk).
My main priority for MM is Kill>Serpent Sting>Chimera>Aimed>Steady x4. I have silence macroed into everything.

IF i were to hold down a secondary survival spec the rotation would go Kill>Explosive>Serpent>Black Arrow>Aimed>Steady. to handle lock and load procs wait the .5 secs between explosives.

How do you go about gear upgrades, gemming ect? Why

When a new tier of gear comes out i will run everything thru http://www.femaledwarf.com to get a starter set to build on. This is also where i muck with gemming and enchants. I'll find the theoretical best possible dps for BiS gear first. Since BiS isnt always what drops, and isnt always available to me at the time, i will than go back into the spreadsheet and test lesser gear mixed with gear i already have to see what produces the best results. As a rule of thumb i will not take a piece of gear that isnt on my "Want list" which is written down on a sticky note and posted on my monitor. Each and every one of the pieces on my "want list" has been run through the spreadsheet as mixed with gear i presently have and also mixed with BiS pieces.
I do this to make sure a) im not taking a piece of gear that will sit in my bags when someone else could have used it and b) to make sure that the upgrade is in fact and upgrade. Higher gearscore does not always mean that it is an upgrade, and some of the stats can be deceiving.

How do you maximize your dps on high movement fights that involve target switches?

Ah the stutter step, a hunters best friend. If you look at the screenshot above, right below my FX theres a quartz timer. That bad boy is my autoshot cd timer. Run, stop, autoshot, run. Of course it gets reset with aimed shot (stupid blizzard fixitfixitfixitfixit). But in general we have to move like scared prairie dogs. firing instants on the move and stopping for autos. As for target swapping, i make macros. LOTS AND LOTS of macros. I have had very limited success with mouseover macros and in general have not been able to get used to them, so i just macro everything together with a /targetlasttarget or a /targetfocus.

Why did your other hunter beat you on some fights?

This is a tricky one. First i will give you my "excuses" and than i will own up to my own shortcomings, which will conveniently answer you last question

The event i listed above as one of my greatest personal success' also happened to take place during February, and on 3 nights i stopped my writing insanity long enough to raid on crappy hotel internet. What i didnt mention above was that i had taken such poor care of myself for 2 weeks that i ended up getting really sick. Like, 103 fever for 5 days sick. And i still raided. We were, during the month of February, HEMORRHAGING raiders, and every single person still available needed to be there. I didnt mind, its not like i was forced from my sickbed to play WoW, but i was defiantly not at my peak performance levels for most of february. I can sit here and wish that the parses went back into december and january farther than they do, or wish that i hadnt had work conflict, or wish that i hadnt gotten sick, or wish that i hadnt chosen that time to learn how to play wow all over again with a new mouse. But wishing never solved anything, only action can do that.

I received my shiny new mouse on January 17th. If you have ever gone from playing with a 3 button mouse to playing with one that has 17 buttons i am sure you can understand some of my frustrations. While now i would not trade back down to my crappy mouse if you paid me, it has been very difficult to get used to. I have basically had to change my entire playstyle around. Changing from keybinds and mouse moving to everything being controlled by my right hand, made even more fun and entertaining because i am left handed!! All joking aside here, i have had to get one of those exercise hand springs to strengthen my muscles in order to run a full raid night using this bad boy.
That aside, i have made serious progress with the mouse and now only occasionally hit the wrong key. But a missed shot is still lost dps time.

I have had 3 points in imp HM forever now, and yet my other hunter loves (i mean LOVES) to overwrite it mid fight. Yet another lost gcd.

On fights like rotface and festergut i seem to be targeted withe abilities much more than my other hunter. In one example from festergut that im looking at now i took over 60k damage from vile gas while he took none at all. The loss of dps time there is enraging to me.

On blood princes i get another bitch job, kinetic bomb duty. When we first started this encounter i attempted leaving the bombs solely to my pet. But after more than one bomb going off it was decided by our raid leader that i should do nothing but make sure those bombs dont hit the ground. So while i will keep srs up on whatever prince is active and keep up a semblance of a rotation while i have the kinetic bombs under control, i again tend to have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure those bombs do not hit the ground. Which can be fun if the bombs are on 2 completely different sides of the room and there happens to be a vortex right in the path between them.

Dreamwalker is another fight where i get bitch duty (noticing a trend here?) Whenever possible i have to distract the Zombie and kite it around so it doesnt kill our squishy casters and melee.

All excuses and reasoning aside...

Tell me something that you feel is your biggest weakness as a player(Not the Class) your own flaw while playing that you wish to improve upon?

I will readily admit that I have a terrible habit of watching timers and debuffs to the point of exclusion. While it has been my pleasure to raid with some of the best players i have ever known, i have also been cursed with some of the least aware people on the face of the planet. Over time, as a raid assist, it has become a habit to worry more about what everyone else is doing and focus less on my own dps. I am hoping that stepping down from a leadership role will let me leave everyone else's job to them, and focus more on my own performance. it is beyond time that i stop taking responsibility for the rest of my raid and let them make the mistakes and learn from them on their own.

[Halomyr]

Hunter apps scare the everliving hell out of me.

Anyways, somehow even through all of that I still have a question! On your most recent Putricide kill why was your damage done to the Volaltile (Green) Ooze so low? Your DPS on the fight actually wasn't too bad but your damage to both slimes, though that one in particular, could stand to be a bit higher.

Otherwise though will you be around tomorrow around maybe 8ish EST to hop on vent?