Time for a KILLING SPREE!
Posted: February 1, 2012 Filed under: Live, Rogue (PvE) | Tags: deep insight killing spree, killing spree, killing spree on cooldown, ks timing, rogue cooldowns, when to use killing spree Leave a comment »
Killing Spree is one of those abilities that seems simple. It’s a major DPS cooldown for Combat. You want to line it up with damage-enhancing procs to squeeze out every last ounce of damage. In that vein, tons of Combat Rogue guides out there advise only using Killing Spree with Deep Insight. But is that really true?
Last raid I was chatting in our melee channel, and the topic of cooldowns came up. Vuez, our resident awesome-at-ALL-THE-THINGS Rogue, said something I’d never heard before: “Just use Killing Spree on cooldown.” Apparently, he saw Killars from <vodka> use Killing Spree as soon as it came up and adopted the mindset.
Then I came across a Rogue thread with experienced players citing Killing Spree on cooldown is better than sitting on it. Read the rest of this entry »
Expertise in PVP (Or: Why 95% Doesn’t Cut It)
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: Live, Rogue (PvP) | Tags: do you need to cap expertise pvp, expertise cap, gouge, hit and expertise cap, kidney shot, pvp caps, pvp expertise cap, rogue pvp expertise cap, whoopsie nvm dodged 1 Comment »
Rogues entering PVP for the first time have to worry about gearing up. Part of gearing up is hitting the right stat caps. Last time we tackled the PVP hit cap (and how to calculate it). This time we’re going to look at expertise.
When you think of expertise, you probably think of PVE. You’re in raids to PUMP DAT DPS SON, and if you don’t cap the stats that make your weapons hit flesh you’re doing your raid a disservice. You’ll occasionally find yourself in front of a monster out of necessity, and you’ll be cursing the entire time as most of your special (and not-so-special) attacks get dodged and parried.
But PVP isn’t about DPS optimization. It’s about enemy control (with DPS bursts here and there). Hit plays a big role since it ensures stuff connects. But many people just leave it at that. And doing so leaves you open to having your stuns miss your target. Read the rest of this entry »
No Epic Gems, No Raid Spot
Posted: January 27, 2012 Filed under: Live, Priest (Disc), Priest (Holy), Rogue (PvE) | Tags: epic gem drama, epic gems, epic gems dragon soul, epic gems raiding, queen's garnet, queen's garnet raiding, when should i equip epic gems, when should i use epic gems Leave a comment »
What would you do if your GM told you your BiS (best-in-slot) Heroic DS loot had to be outfitted with epic gems in 48 hours or you were getting the boot from your raid team?
Well, Zivandrana on the WoW Forums is in that exact situation in his guild. And while it’s not surprising that the GM would push for a fully-optimized raid, it’s a jarring and sudden change for raiders.
Imagine you’re in a hard-mode raiding guild. Your raid leader and officers are preparing for this expansions’s massive DPS stress tests: H-Ultraxion and H-Spine of Deathwing. It’s understandable that they’d look at how to improve the bottom-line DPS. And the easiest way to do this is stack stats on every character. Boosting gems are a perfect solution!
But do the stat benefits outweigh the massive goldsink? Read the rest of this entry »
Overdosing on Haste
Posted: January 26, 2012 Filed under: Live, Rogue (PvE) | Tags: combat rogue, combat rogue haste cap, haste cap, melee haste cap, too much haste, when is haste bad Leave a comment »
Combat Rogues! Hear my lamentations! Stacking haste leads to energy capping, energy capping leads to lost DPS, and lost DPS means KEYBOARD-DESTROYING FRUSTRATION.
With our gear (and stats) improving weekly, trinkets that can proc at the worst times (thanks for that extra haste during Heroism and my 2-piece bonus proc, Starcatcher Compass), glyphs that make abilities free, talents that proc energy, and cooldowns that either replenish energy at ridiculous rates or prevent us from spending it, there’s tons of factors that lead even the most sensible Rogue to think haste is an evil stat that should be avoided.
It’s legitimate to ask “How much haste is too much?” Read the rest of this entry »
Ditching EPGP for Loot Council
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: Live | Tags: epgp, epgp won't work, gearing for heroic spine, heroic spine loot council, loot council, spine of deathwing, switching epgp with loot council Leave a comment »
Crimson’s nearing a giant roadblock called Heroic Spine of Deathwing. It’s one of the most DPS-intensive, class-restrictive, optimization-focused fights ever put in the game. And I’m having doubts EPGP- our loot system- is going to let us defeat it. Read the rest of this entry »
