The Blog From Hell

OMGpwnies’ Diary: Boreddumb

I have done absolutely nothing all week. What with one thing and another my little family got all the minor attention going around so I basically sat in the Hinterlands waiting for a turn that never came. I am soo bored I swear if I don’t get to kill something tonight I’m going to seduce one of the guards here just to do something.

Now of course, nelf seduction is hardly unusual but these guards are all dwarves and I mean, I DO have my pride and besides, with dwarves you really never know where they’ve been so please let me kill some things tonight. Pretty please.

The JetRaven Chronicles: I hunter

Me an HollyPolly wen to da Arathi Highlands in da early part of the week. As we fought our way tru many quests killing lots of ugly dwarves wid uglier green vests, we ultimately got sent to da shoreline. There we killed lots of Naga’s to steal der fin’s and then lots of Murloc’s to steal der eyes. All this to help out da Tarren Mill alchemist. Basically I can only conclude dat alchemy be a pretty damn gross profession, a lot like da voodoo but widout da zombies. Anyway HollyPolly is a zombie too so Iz confused about dem now cos she be kina cute.

Da difficult bit was dat da murloc’s hang around right next to da Alliance town of Southshore which be filled wid guards who don’t take kindly to horde members passing tru, they was also very tough – in due time we’ll of course be able to slaughter dem but for now, dey be somewhat beyond our abilities. While dere however I put Screwch in the stable and tamed meself a spider pet adding a new class of pet (cunning) to me list. I named him Snapz. Snapz has certainly got his uses, when I attack something he will usually web me target allowing me to get many shots in before da target can even move. Dis be very nice for crowd control, cos now me and me pet both have trapz. Oh yes, I learned how to make immolation trapz. Dey be traps that let me do one of da same damages dat Hollypolly does – very useful wen da enemy get too close.

From Tarren Mill we wen to Strangletorn Vale to meet wid dis guy called Hemet Nessingwary. Him a very famous hunter so even though him a dwarve ant an alliance it was still great honor to meet him. Nessingwary he dinna just let us visit da camp, he give us a chance to prove our hunting skillz so we wen to kill panters and raptors and tigers, an each time we do – he send us to kill tougher ones. Da tigers were da easiest to kill each time but also da hardest quests cos der never be enuf of dem anywhere an always you haf to kill lots of extra panters cos they hang out in da same places as da tigers. I tink ole Hemet he hunted a bit too many of da tigers dats why der not be many left now. Lucky wid me tracking beasts we cud usually find whatever we was hunting pretty easy.

While still hunting for Hemet we made it to level tirty and got a lot of new quests which we did in between da hunting. Mostly dese were from Grom’Gol basecamp and dey was for us to kill da bloodscalp trollz who be using da bad voodoo. We collected der necklaces and der udder property. We had to kill many, many of dem. Many times we wud empty der camps and then wait for dem to send new ones and kill dem all again. I wud have died a lot doing dis and Hollypolly did (but she bein’ a zombie I guess it’s no big deal – she kina been der, done dat got da t-shirt ting hehe) but I now know how to feign death and many times I only stayed alive when too many trollz attacked by making dem tink I was already dead.

Wen next we enter we will need to kill more trollz cos we need more necklaces and we got new quests for dem and also we still have new hunting quests for Hemet.

The legend of RavenJet: The story so far (in short summary of only the important bits)

I grew up in Gnomeregan, the great city of the gnomes. A splendid place of engineering wizardry filled with devices of extraordinaryness and if anybody doubted it we would just zap them with the extraordinarytron and then they wouldn’t. I was barely 18 though when gnomeregan fell and alone with Mam and Pappy and most of our surviving friends we fled to Ironforge. It was there that I met a gnome called Briarthorn. Briarthorn was a warlock. Pappy had always wanted me to be an engineer like him and I agreed and studied hard, but Briarthorn had power. Dark and attractive and I was drawn to it. I had seen my homeland destroyed and my friends turned into irradiated monsters… I was not a happy young gnome and in this path I saw the route to revenge.

Revenge for the girl who had given me my first zap with a kissatron and whom I had last seen glowing green and filed with dire hatred. Revenge for losing my home. Here was the power to vindicate myself and my people. After much debate, Pappy agreed that I could train (under protest but I guess he realized I wouldn’t back down) but only if also trained engineering.

From the dwarves I learned mining, from pappy engineering and from Briarthorn my first steps on the path of dark wizardry and demonology as a warlock. I fought many creatures, often more powerful than me and enslaved many demons to do my bidding as I travelled Azeroth, in due time I would explore every corner of it and in fact I now wear the tabbard of the explorer’s league but my beginnings were of course, rather more humble than that.

By the time I was level 30, a mere 22 years old, I teamed up with a Night Elf priest and a Dwarven Warrior and together we entered gnomeregan and fought our way through trogs and corrupted technologies until we faced the Mekgineer and as I fired the final shadow bolt at him I could feel my thirst for vengeance somewhat quenched. But the thirst was still there, the knowledge that there was more injustice and suffering out there, and that I wanted to make those who brought it suffer as I had suffered.

I chose the path of the affliction warlock, the anger in me could only be appeased by the slow torture of my enemies it offered. When old age came to take Pappy, I went to Tanaris in the deserts of Kalimdor and learned Goblin engineering even though it would have broken his heart if I had done it while he was alive, but if I was to be an engineer as well – I wanted to blow things up.

On went my journey over several more years, my skills in the dark arts growing and ultimately I came to the plaguelands. At first my service to the Argent Dawn was merely as a mercenary. I was there to fight the undead scourge for money to fund my thirst to punish those who had made me suffer so, the Mekgineer may be dead but gnomeregan remained irradiated, the troggs survived in great numbers and I would see them all burned in the shadowflame.

Then as I fought for the Dawn in Darrowshire I came across the ghost of a little girl called Pamela Redpath, and that day I found a new focus for the dark thirst inside me as she asked me to fetch for her the parts of her dolly. I found out more about her, how her father had once been a great hero of his people before the scourge had turned him to darkness.

With the help of Chromie a bronze dragon who can turn into a gnome I set about to right some wrongs. Each time I looked in that little girls eyes I could feel a hatred build within me, but before I could avenge her – I would free her, and her father from their torment. As I reunited father and daughter I still cried, for their reunion was nevertheless as spirits. Not as tormented as before, but nevertheless … dead. My hatred found a new focus. The man who had betrayed all of the races of Azeroth, the once-good prince who had been hailed as a hero – and become instead the greatest force of darkness yet to unleash his cruelty on our world, the monster who had killed little Pamela Redpath. Arthas, the Lich King.

It would be some time yet before I could pursue Arthas however. I knew that to challenge him, I would need more power. Stronger allies and much preparation. So I signed up for yet another mercenary task in the wastes of Outland. There was great opportunity for a warlock in a land filled with demons – after all we specialize in controlling and overpowering demons. I fought my way through this demon infested land in service of the alliance and the Naaru and built up my finances and my skills for a full five years, always in the shadow of Illidan – the demon king.

Finally after I returned from the aftermath of the outland war, I was ready to set out for Northrend, where Arthas had built his dread citadel and the pursuit no longer of my own vengeance -but the vengeance of Pamela, the duty I had sworn upon myself all those years ago in the plaguelands. I was at the battle of the wrathgate and saw Horde and Alliance soldiers alike shatterd like cold metal on anvil before the forces of the Lich King and the Ebon Blade. I battled and quested my way through Northrend and fought it’s dark forces even in the undercity fighting at the side of king Varian Wryn and Lady Jaina Proudmoore themselves.

As we returned to Stormwind after the battle for the undercity the King gave me the order to conquer Northrend in his name. I nodded sagely and suppressed my dark laughter until I was out of the pallace. I would fullfill my duty – but not because he asked, because in doing so – I would get my chance for another shot at Arthas, so I joined the legions of Tirian Fordring and Lady Jaina once more – to fight in the war for Ice Crown Citadel.

Before I got there though, I had a visit from my old ally Chromie. She was asking for my help with a very important task. The blue dragonflight was trying to go back in time, and change history – by killing Arthas before he could betray lordaeron an become the Lich King. They had to be stopped, because to change history like that would sunder the world.

It was the hardest thing she could have asked me to do. I hated Arthas, and now she was showing me a chance to not just kill him, but prevent all the suffering he would cause… and asking me to fight by his side, protect him and ensure it all came to pass. But Chromie pleaded and I saw reason, and returned through time to Strathholme where once I had fought the forces of the undead to fight once more- but this time on the side of their future leader. As I entered the inn, there was a face I knew. Little Pamela Redpath, before she died.

My heart almost cracked then. All the hatred and darkness I had allowed to well in it came to boiling point, I remember nothing harder than to turn around and join Arthas in battle. With every enemy I slayed for him I felt like I was personally betraying Pamela, my hand was ensuring that she would die… I knew I had no choice, history had to happen, but nevertheless I loathed myself through every moment and as I finally left, on the reigns of a bronze drake given to me by Chromie I had only one more thought that mattered. That before I died, I would see Arthas burn.

Finally I returned to Ice Crown Citadel and began my quest to reach him. I fought his first minion, Lord Marrowgar and destroyed him with my band of trusted friends. We destroyed Lady Deathwhisper and protected the skybreaker and faced down deathbringer Saurfang and finally, last night I felt grim satisfaction as yet another of the minions guarding him – the absolutely despicable Festergut burned in the flame of hatred that powers the warlock’s spells. Five of his minions have fallen, 6 remain… and then finally I shall have my day. I shall stand face to face with the lich king and I oath, he will BURN.

Angie has started a lock on our darkside guild. So I gave her some hints (having played a warlock through the pre-dungeon-finder levelling process and raiding with him now) including that I think affliction is not just the best levelling spec but can be a very good raiding spec later (hell it’s mine) but also that to play it well you have to use good macro’s – it’s just too complex a spec otherwise.

She asked me to share mine. So I figured a blogpost would be the best way to do that, these 12 macro’s make up my entire standard button bar. I should say a few things about them upfront. Firstly they are heavilly PvE raid-centric, for pvp and solo you have slightly different needs (though these can be used for that, it’s a bit more cumbersome – where I can, I’ll try to point this out). Secondly they are post-80 macro’s, while levelling you won’t have all these spells and will actually use some I don’t use or earlier versions (e.g. demon skin instead of demon armor), but I think even while levelling you can make good use of the general structure.

Each macro also comes with a description of how I use it and why I did it the way I did it. I linked the spells to their wowhead entries here, but obviously in the real macro they won’t be linked. The button and titles are in bold, code is in italics and the descriptions in plain text.

Button 1: Buff

/use [modifier:alt] Demonic Soulstone

/castsequence [nomod] Demon Armor, Unending Breath, Detect Invisibility;

How to use it: This one I use before the raid/fight/quest starts to set up buffs. Hitting Alt-1 will let me soulstone myself or my current target. To buff I just hit the 1 key three times in a row. While demon armor is only castable on me I can cast the other two on a friendly target as well so if needed I can give everybody the ability to see invisible things and breath underwater (rare though, most level 80 chars have a similiar ability of some sort for both so I mostly just self-cast them when I want to). In most raids, I will only hit 1 and Alt-1 as the others are more rarely use.

Button 2: Corrupt

/cast [nomod] Seed of Corruption

/cast [modifier:alt] Corruption

How to use it: This is my trash-man button, when facing large groups of trashmods, I just hit 2 then tab to te next one and hit it again, repeat over and over for massive damage. Casting SoC on smaller groups is a waste though as the AoE damage is wasted, so for those cases I can use Alt-2 to quickly cast plain old corruption. The best thing a lock can do on those guys is just spam them with shadow-bolt until they are below 25% and then hit them with drain soul after that. It makes no sense to DoT them up as they usually won’t live long enough for your DoTs to get all their ticks in. With everlasting affliction however, putting up a corruption makes sense as it will just keep going while you spam shadow bolts and drain soul. More-over it gives you a chance for nightfal to proc (either from the glyph or the talent – or in my case both) which means you get an instant cast shadow bolt now and then, lovely. Corruption is also an istant-cast so it’s nice to stack one on a trashmob before you start spamming.

Button 3: DoT

/use 13

/use 14

/castsequence Reset=Combat/Target Haunt, Corruption, Curse of Agony, Unstable Affliction

How to use it: This is my "boss-fight-opener" button. It uses both my trinkets then sets up all my DoTs in what theorycrafting suggests is the best order (there is some debate – like some people want corruption up BEFORE haunt). I also like this order as it puts the two slow-casts at the beginning and end so I can tell where am in it without having to look at the icon. I know I can run-and-cast after haunt is up (say if I need to get out of an AoE zone) and have to stop to set up the last one. So basically I start a boss fight by hitting the 3 button four times. Generally I will not use it again unless I was forced to target-switch so long that all DoT’s have expired. It doesn’t always make sense to use both trinkets at once and at the start of a fight but it does make sense for affliction. Especially if you have the nevermelting ice crystal – as this allows you (with everlasting affliction) to keep corruption up and proc’ing massive crits for the entire fight.

Never use this to renew DoTs – it’s only to set them up the first time ! If you find you have trash you want to DoT up (it happens) then use the other buttons to do so, not this one – save your trinket procs for the bosses.

Button 4 Haunt, Button 5 Curse of Agony, Button 6 Unstable Affliction

These are not macro’s, just the spells, yes the same ones from the macro on button 3. Once the DoT’s are up, these are here so I can watch the DoT’s on the boss and replace them individually as and when they expire – thus you never clip a DoT but you do have them all up for the maximum amount of the fight. In between spam shadow bolt (or if the boss is below 25% health, drain soul).

Button 7: Shadow Bolt

This is also not a macro, it’s just the spell there, ready to slam onto bosses. It used to be a macro I called DPS though while levelling, and also did things like searing pain and immolate. This is useful in early levels, it’s a waste after level 80 when the difference in your shadow spells for affliction is so powerful that you never want to waste time to get fire spells up (they just don’t do enough damage for the cast-time you waste).

Button 8: Drain

/cast [nomod] Drain Soul

/cast [modifier:alt] Drain Life

How to use it: This one is simple enough – both our draining spells on one button for instant access. Before level 80 you will probably want to swap the modifiers though so Drain Life is the plain cast and drain soul the alt cast. This is because your most powerful way to take on enemies when solo’ing (or mind you in pvp) is to drain-tank them. In a raid however you will hardly ever cast drain life. It doesn’t do much boss damage, you got healers to keep you going and besides as DPS you don’t take much damage anyway. You do however cast drain soul in every fight, as soon as the boss is under 25% health it does 4X normal damage and you want to use it over shadow bolt. Drain Life does have on other major advantage in PvP – it can proc nightfall (just like corruption) and in pvp those extra instant-cast shadow bolt chances are worth far more than the DPS drop over-all (which is why you don’t want it on a raid boss).

Button 9: Heal

/use Demonic Healthstone

/use Greater Healing Potion

This button is for healing, it’s not used often in a fight where you have healers but sometimes – say if you just took a big burst it’s great to self-heal a big chunk back and spare the healers a bit of effort (chances are you’re not the only one who just got hit hard after all). This button has played a major role in helping me survive a potting in ulduar for example. It uses both healthstones and potions (you can shift-click to modify it for whatever level of either you have).

Button 0: Mana

/cast [nomod] Dark Pact

/cast [modifier:alt] Life Tap

How to use it: this button is for replenishing mana in-fight, one of a warlock’s best features. Affliction gets the Dark Pact cast from a talent and it’s veyr useful. Add the fact that our main pet’s primary damage is not mana based we can safely use our felhunter as a mana battery without the worries other specs have when doing so. This is a very good thing to do as well as it means we can replenish mana without sacrificing health (meaning an easier time on the healers as well). If however we lose our pet, hitting Alt-0 gives us the warlock classic life-tap to get mana back and keep casting.

Many a warlock have saved a raid that was otherwise wiped as the last-man-standing by draintanking the boss those last few bits of health, mana replenishment is a crucial part of drain-tanking so it’s worth remembering the tactic even when you are done levelling (and hope you never have to use it).

Button -: Mount

How to use it: this is not a macro, I just keep my current preffered mount here for quick acces. Used to have a macro to randomly select one but the lists got too large and besides, I got bored with it.

Button =: ohshit

/use Demonic Healthstone

/use Greater Healing Potion

/cast Soul Shatter

/stopcasting

/cast Demonic Circle:Teleport

/stopcasting

/cast [modifier:alt] Howl of terror;

How to use it: The name says it all really – hit this button when the shit has hit the fan and you want to have a small chance at survival. The first thing it does is it tries to heal (lucky you can /use as much ast once as you want), at the same time it casts a soul shatter which is an instant AoE threat reducer. Then it tries to jump to your demonic circle (if you have on, if not this just fails – no biggie). If you hit alt-= instead of just = then it also casts Howl of Terror and AoE fear spell. There are two reason this isn’t in the just-hit button. Firstly it’s the only non-instant cast there so you don’t want to cast it unless you have no choice (you’re in a pvp battle, the warrior is upon you, your circle is gone… this is the time for an AoE fear and massive heals). Secondly you never want to fear a boss unless you’re also the last man standing – otherwise, fearing in a raid is a good way to never get invited again. What this does do however is in a raid, if you pull aggro on the boss allow you to have a very big chance of surviving – it reduces your threat, which makes it easier for the tank to take it back, and heals you up in a typical raid. Unlike the other buttons this one really is quite general use as it covers raid, solo and pvp needs in one nice "I want to live" button.

Booyah !

I got me new pet – rare white kittycat. Him awesomes. But lemme start at da beginnings. I finished hunting der Zevrah’s I wrote about yesterdays and gave their hoofses to Sergra. Den she sented me to hunt der prowlers. Dem was easiest of all. Really. Den finally she gave me der horn to summon Echeyakee. Dey says in der cowz language his name means misty sumting. But I was only level thirteen still and would not be able to tame himz.

So I did some other quests first. I went to der forgotten pools to check out der bottoms, where der was dese holes that made seeds grow. Along der way was lots of Kolkars I had to kill cos they tried to kills me. Seems everting is trying to kills me dese days. And big mean turtles too but dey was easy to killz cos deys too slow to get close. Den dis guy told me about dem quilguards who been stealing der supplies so I went and killed lots and lots of quilguards and der leader whose name I cannot spellz and took back der supplies.

Dey wasn’t hard to killz but once they made me dead cos der was too many at once and I had to run back as a ghost. I almost like running as a ghost though cos it the only time I not really, really slow. Soon I will learn to ride on udder animals though and den it will be betterz. After I did der quilguards I was level 14 and so I went back to Tundar Bluff to train. I learned how to zoom my eyes like eagle. Also learned how to look through my pets eyes and scare der beasties.

When I tinished training I go back to crossroads and den I went to der raptor’s nest to take back silver dey stole. Was funny watching mump kill bigger raptors dan himselves. Finely I got to level 15 and I was allowed to go do dungeons. I still did a lot of quests cos it take long to find dungeon when it late at night on patchday and you is DPSer like me.

Der udder quests I did was not so interesting but dey passed der time. I got a dungeon finely and went to ragefire chasm. It wented very well. Got lots of questies der cos Iz horde, and also did bestest dps in der group. We killeded everyting and every boss too. I became level 16 while I was der but I haven’t gone to train yet. I went and put Mump in a stable and den I go to der kodo bones place where I call Echeyakee. I tame him no problemz. I name my tame one Screwch, cos it like der sound of kitty when deyz scratching in der litter box to cover der alliance dey made der (heehee, Iz a funny troll).

I took Screwch and we wen and killed Echeyakee (sumting weird about dis… but I no need to be smart enough to unnerstand it – I got big gun). Now was late so I tink I just go hand in quests from ragefire then go sleepz. I go to Orgrimar first to hand in one der, den take zeppelin to Undercity to hand in der but I got Screwched over. Der guards keep closing der inner doors before I can go in. I decide it too late to figure out, so I go to sleepz right der in der hallway. I figure that out tonight insteads.

But first gonna send the heirlooms to OMGpwnies cos she say it’s her turn to play for a bit most of tonight and RavenJet will prolly be going to kill Lord Marrowgar so I prolly won’t be able to get very far tonight cos no time.