Into Karazhan

Last night was my Pally's second Kara raid, and the first full clear! Being back in the tanking role again is proving to be really great. Winter and I have joined a few of our guild mates in what we've dubbed "Couples Kara." The group is made up of couples within the guild, intended to get some of our significant others some experience with raiding, and gear. Each couple has someone who is playing a well geared (or "experienced") character, and someone either new to raiding entirely, or playing a new level 70 alt that needs gear. So far it's been a great experience, we're playing together, moving through the instance at a really good pace and getting loot and badges all around.

Winter and I aren't exactly "new" to the raiding scene, however this has been a great way to gear up my pally without feeling like I'm just dragging her through an instance with a group that's done with the zone.

As with any raid group, there's some variation from week to week on raid makeup. We're open to anyone who wants to signup, it was actually by chance when we first set out that mostly couples signed up. The concept just tickled us. Whenever we do bring someone who isn't an SO of anyone else in the raid, we teasingly pair up the unattached and they are each other's date for the evening. This of course has led to some pretty hilarious teasing and commenting over Vent.

This week a new couple joined us, and the mage was raiding for the first time ever. She made out like a bandit getting 5 pieces of loot, including the [Nathrezim Mindblade]!

I did quite well for myself as well, picking up both the t4 glove token from Curator, which I turned in for [Justicar Handguards], and the [Shield of Impenetrable Darkness]. I really feel like a tank now!

A Guide to Uncrushable

The maintankadin forums have been an excellent source of information as I learn the ins and outs of pally tanking. Now that my pally is 70, I'd like to start taking her to Kara and be able to MT. This requires her to be "Uncrushable." Easier said than done...considering the mind boggling variety of gear/drops/etc. that are technically "tank gear" and wearable by a paladin.

And then I came across this list: Eanin's Failsafe Uncrushability Guide

Now I know exactly what I need to collect, and I'll actually be viable in Kara a lot sooner than I thought.

I also picked up the "Pally Power" mod, which everyone says is a must have, can't wait to test it out!

70 at Last!

Well that's one thing off my to do list! My pally dinged 70 tonight after a super fast Shadow Labs run. Murmur dropped a [Greatsword of Horrid Dreams] which is a great tanking upgrade for me, and I got my key fragment too...what a busy night! After the run I rode over to Shadowmoon (no fp yet...still working on Blade's Edge!) and grabbed my [Golden Gryphon] I don't normally pick the plain one, but it just seemed like the only choice for a pally. It feels so very sloooooow though, even with the aura! Guess I know what my next project is going to be. :P

Going on the to do list is the rest of my Kara keying quests (I know I can get it, but I like having a key) and my Alchemist's Elixir quest, which requires a black morass run.

Ding 69 and Rested!

My pally is level 69, and I'm fully rested to 70...time to make that final push. It seems to get easier with each alt, or perhaps I just know the quests and zones so well now that I've avoided most of the running around looking for the next thing to do.

This pally has been a blast to play, and for the last five or so levels she's been running duo with winter's little frost mage. Oh my...the AoE...it's crazy! I really like the combination, and all the control it offers.

Tonight we hit Blade's Edge, and 70 is the goal. Yes, I did just say Blade's Edge.

Here are my tricks:

1. Play rested, always. If you aren't rested, find something else to do.
2. Instance. Run every instance you are able to run, as soon as you are able to pick up the quests. This is a HUGE xp and rep boost and cuts back on the quests you need to do. It also gives you gear, that helps make questing easier.
3. Save group quests, and do a whole bunch of them at once, with a group, instead of trying to struggle through them.
4. When possible, have a leveling buddy. Everything is easier with a friend.

This has worked so well for me, with all of my alts since tBC. And in case you're wondering...I head to outland the *second* I ding 58. No waiting. The instance part is vital if you do that though, you need the instance xp to keep you from running out of quests.

Why not finish all the zones instead of instancing? Money. Plain and simply, quests give a lot more money after you hit 70, and they are easier to do if you can fly. Finishing off Blade's Edge, Netherstorm and Shadowmoon is going to be a LOT of $$$.

So, I've nearly reached my goal of hitting 70 with my pally, next up? Doing my elixir mastery quest in Black Morass, and gearing for Kara.

On Tanking, Class Matters

I know it must seem crazy that I've got a prot pally coming up (68 and counting!) with a prot warrior already leveled and geared up...but what can I say, I'm spec'd for tanking ;)

Last night, Winter and I hopped in a group with some guildmates on their own "almost 70" alts and we hit Old Hillsbrad and Sethekk Halls. Winter brought his pally for uber heals so our party was: Pally(healz), Pally(tank - me!), Warrior(OT), Mage, Rogue. The warr was spec'd prot but was a couple levels lower than my pally, so he decided to OT and see if he could pull aggro off of me all night, a fun game. I worked hard to keep it (and stealthily salv'd him at one point, just to see if he'd notice - he didn't! :P ) and he worked hard to steal it. We had a lot of fun, and unlike similar runs with our geared characters, we actually managed to pick up some useful items along the way.

The run, as fun as it was, reminded me of my frustrations with warrior tanking. I've always maintained that warriors should be *the* tanking class, they can't do anything else better than other classes, so they should be able to do that. Prior to tBC, I tanked with my warrior, and LOVED it. Sadly with tBC, the three tanking classes sort of leveled out on the main tanking ability, with pallies and druids getting the benefit of utility, and better multi-pull control.

Having come from a warrior perspective, tanking all these same instances in 5-man groups, tanking with my paladin seems like cheating! It's too easy. I can handle a lot of mobs without much effort, in fact it's always feels silly to be fighting just one thing, when I can be wearing down two or three others at the same time, making less pulls later on. As a warrior, I had to struggle, especially with the multi-pulls. Thunderclap just doesn't hold a candle to Consecration, and now that pallies have a taunt AND a range pull (be careful with that!) there's really no reason that I can see not to take a pally in place of a warrior. Buffs, rez, better multi-pull tank...crazy.

Tanking is what I love to do, but I have to be able to do it well, the struggle with my warrior was just so frustrating, she went from uber tank, to second class OT so fast it left my head spinning. I'm ready this time though, my warrior is waiting at 70, ready for the rush to 80 when WotLK hits, but I also have my druid (currently resto) and now my pally ready and waiting. A DK is on my to-do list too, as soon as I get to 80 with my warr. I want to tank, but I want to bring the best class for the job to the table...I don't want a raid settling for me as a tank, because a different class wasn't available. It's a big project I know, but I'm an altaholic, it's what I live for.

Time for that last push to 70 with my pally...If she's this much fun now...I want to see what she really can do, at cap.