(This post is Out of Character)
Hey everybody! Rahlekk here. The Normal version of the raid has been open for a little more than a week now. I've tried my luck at running Normal but it's just been... less than desirable with some (sadly) people who just don't have the patience and have been kind of mean, causing the raid to fall apart.
I'm trying to organize a full run of Highmaul, on Normal for after the weekend of the 19th.
The goal being, to clear the raid in a relaxed environment, mostly to have fun, and of course to pick up some snazzy looking gear too! The max number of people is 30.
I represent Homeland, but sadly our roster isn't too active and we don't have too many people right now, so I'm mostly posting this by myself, kind of on a whim, but, that's how I've always been.
iLevel Requirements:
So, I've always really hated iLvL, for the purpose that people get flamed/kicked for having a "too low iLvL", and it's really a shame, some people have more time than others to play and the reality is that sometimes it's just hard to get up to the snuff for pug groups, which seems to currently be at 640.
But, from doing some of the raid, a few bosses require a certain amount of DPS to be put out before everything falls apart. From what I've heard, they require DPS numbers of about 11,000. So because of this, I sadly, think I should set a minimum iLvL of 630. This is what Blizzard has recommended.
Of course, this is open for interpretation! Some people could be dishing out some higher DPS, letting us have a few people who are on the lower side of the iLvL.
By no means am I saying "we're willing to carry you." My personal philosophy is to let everybody join and just have a good time. If you're around 620, of course you can join! I see no problems. It's all in good fine, we're going to wipe in the raid a few times. I have no problems. It's just we need a certain amount of DPS to be able to complete it.
Some quick gearing tips.
That being said, here's a few tips for getting to iLvL 630. (ish!)
DPS vs. Healers vs. Tanks
From what I've found the Golden Number seems to be at 2 Tanks, and 4 Healers, specifically for the Butcher. Of course, this depends on the number of the total raid group. That being said, I'd prefer 2 Tanks, and 4 Healers, and then DPS. If the number is below 15, I'd take 3 healers and 2 tanks. Above, I'd like 4. Of course, this is just me, and I'm totally willing to take opinions.
Knowing the fights?
I'm not going to put in the boss fight information here. I think the best way is to just read the dungeon journal. Of course, before we fight we'll help people out and do briefings, but I really think that the mechanics aren't too difficult to learn. And it's a learning experience too! Chances are, we wipe once on each boss, and the second time we really give it to him!
When?
Like I said earlier, I'm going for after the weekend of the 19th. I will update this post after I get a general consensus of when is the best time for people.
As for how long, I'm guessing 4 hours. But I'm really not sure. It's tough to say.
What should I bring?
Snacks, Mountain Dew, your friends, and an attitude to win! But really, grab a Seal of Tempered Fate from near the Apexis Crystal Vendor. This let's you roll for loot again on a boss, once per week. So you could bring a couple. They cost either: Gold, Crystals, Honor Points or Garrison Resources, and their prices go up each time you buy. You also get one per week from a Level 3 War Mill Garrison Building.
Hey everybody! Rahlekk here. The Normal version of the raid has been open for a little more than a week now. I've tried my luck at running Normal but it's just been... less than desirable with some (sadly) people who just don't have the patience and have been kind of mean, causing the raid to fall apart.
I'm trying to organize a full run of Highmaul, on Normal for after the weekend of the 19th.
The goal being, to clear the raid in a relaxed environment, mostly to have fun, and of course to pick up some snazzy looking gear too! The max number of people is 30.
I represent Homeland, but sadly our roster isn't too active and we don't have too many people right now, so I'm mostly posting this by myself, kind of on a whim, but, that's how I've always been.
iLevel Requirements:
So, I've always really hated iLvL, for the purpose that people get flamed/kicked for having a "too low iLvL", and it's really a shame, some people have more time than others to play and the reality is that sometimes it's just hard to get up to the snuff for pug groups, which seems to currently be at 640.
But, from doing some of the raid, a few bosses require a certain amount of DPS to be put out before everything falls apart. From what I've heard, they require DPS numbers of about 11,000. So because of this, I sadly, think I should set a minimum iLvL of 630. This is what Blizzard has recommended.
Of course, this is open for interpretation! Some people could be dishing out some higher DPS, letting us have a few people who are on the lower side of the iLvL.
By no means am I saying "we're willing to carry you." My personal philosophy is to let everybody join and just have a good time. If you're around 620, of course you can join! I see no problems. It's all in good fine, we're going to wipe in the raid a few times. I have no problems. It's just we need a certain amount of DPS to be able to complete it.
Some quick gearing tips.
That being said, here's a few tips for getting to iLvL 630. (ish!)
- Heroics! They drop iLvL 630 gear (sometimes it upgrades to 636) and can be queued for at iLvL 610.
- Looking for Raid, Highmaul and Molten Core. These require iLvL 615, and drop iLvL 640 gear. Molten Core only gives a level 640 hat, while Highmaul LFR gives all sorts of 640 gear.
- Legendary Ring quest. From Khadgar's tower, in Talador, pick up the quest, "Call of the Archmage". This quest requires that you retrieve an item from Skyreach on Normal mode, from the final boss, and awards an iLvL 640 Ring. From there, you can upgrade it to iLvL 680 with some items from 3 of the Heroic Dungeons, and and 4986 Apexis Crystals. (Do those Crystal Dailies!)
- Apexis Crystal Gear. There is a vendor in Warspear, behind the bankers (not in the same building, behind it and to the left) that sell iLvL 630 gear as the first tier, with a few after that. It's 3000 Crystals for the least expensive of this tier, up to 5000 for Legs and Hats.
- For everything else, there's crafted gear, depending on your small garrison plots, world drops (especially Nagrand) and then a few reputation pieces. And then always the Auction House if you have a good amount of gold to spend.
DPS vs. Healers vs. Tanks
From what I've found the Golden Number seems to be at 2 Tanks, and 4 Healers, specifically for the Butcher. Of course, this depends on the number of the total raid group. That being said, I'd prefer 2 Tanks, and 4 Healers, and then DPS. If the number is below 15, I'd take 3 healers and 2 tanks. Above, I'd like 4. Of course, this is just me, and I'm totally willing to take opinions.
Knowing the fights?
I'm not going to put in the boss fight information here. I think the best way is to just read the dungeon journal. Of course, before we fight we'll help people out and do briefings, but I really think that the mechanics aren't too difficult to learn. And it's a learning experience too! Chances are, we wipe once on each boss, and the second time we really give it to him!
When?
Like I said earlier, I'm going for after the weekend of the 19th. I will update this post after I get a general consensus of when is the best time for people.
As for how long, I'm guessing 4 hours. But I'm really not sure. It's tough to say.
What should I bring?
Snacks, Mountain Dew, your friends, and an attitude to win! But really, grab a Seal of Tempered Fate from near the Apexis Crystal Vendor. This let's you roll for loot again on a boss, once per week. So you could bring a couple. They cost either: Gold, Crystals, Honor Points or Garrison Resources, and their prices go up each time you buy. You also get one per week from a Level 3 War Mill Garrison Building.
Edited by Rahlekk on 12/10/2014 9:02 PM PST
