It's Over

I cancelled my subscription yesterday; though my account will still be active until September. It has been a few weeks since I started playing very casually, and I have finally quit altogether. The game holds no lustre for me anymore, and there is nothing keeping me there.

It was an enjoyable four years, with thousands of hours put into levelling and playing my toons, many friends made along the way, and many unforgettable experiences collected. I will miss Gaiwyn the most, but I knew that the day would eventually come when I landed my drake, hung up my robe and moved on with my life.

I am taking a break from gaming altogether for a while. When The Old Republic goes into beta, I may look into giving that a shot. Nothing else really appeals to me right now. I haven't yet played the original Mass Effect, so that is also something I may have to look into.

Perhaps this blog will undergo a change when the time comes for me to pick up my mouse again and launch into a diverse world of exploration and achievement. But for now, this is Gaiwyn of the US realm Proudmoore, logging off.

/camp

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Mage PvP

Seeing as I seldom play anymore, and definitely don't have time to raid, I was thinking that I might try my hand at PvP. It's truly been a while since I PvPed as a mage.

11/0/60 looks like a pretty solid Frost PvP build. I'll give it a shot if I decide to go that way.

Getting the Deadly Gladiator set is manageable, at least. :)

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Ulduar Caster Wishlist

Best in Slot gear is very hard to work out, especially considering that different specs benefit slightly differently from certain gear compositions; raid makeup can make a difference; and then of course there are Tier bonuses to take into account.

When it comes to hit, there are three considerations to make: talents that increase chance to hit; the Draenei racial bonus; the buffs that Shadow Priests and Balance Druids provide. This means that one should have maximum hit gear and then scale it with other pieces according to current raid makeup.

I used to find it pretty easy to do back in TBC raiding. If there was a Draenei in my party, I would switch out a ring that had +12 hit on it. I also swapped out a few pieces for trash, which of course required a lot less hit.

With Ulduar here, and me being unable to raid due to not having found a casual 10-man raiding guild as of yet, I can still look at available gear and see what works in terms of BiS / Tier 8.0 pieces. One can only dream.

This is what I came up with:
Precision (3/3); Required Hit: 367
Cowl of Icy Breaths
Pendant of the Shallow Grave
Valorous Kirin Tor Shoulderpads
Drape of the Spellweaver
Raiments of the Corrupted
Runetouch Handwraps
Valorous Kirin Tor Gauntlets
Binding of the Dragon Matriarch
Leggings of Unstable Discharge
Treads of the Dragon Council
Emerald Signet Ring
Lady Maye's Sapphire Ring
Elemental Focus Stone
Eye of the Broodmother
Firesoul
Igniter Rod
Nurturing Touch
Totals: 367 Hit; 527 Crit; 220 Haste

I also worked out some other pieces to get for swapping in and out, depending on the presence of a Draenei and/or the 3% hit buff from a Shadow Priest or Balance Druid. Circumstances depending, the following are some pieces that are worth getting. It may even pay to mix some of the above pieces around in order to have 4/5 Tier 8.0 for the 4-piece bonus.

Lifespark Visage and Valorous Kirin Tor Hood
Pendant of the Piercing Glare
Valorous Kirin Tor Tunic
Combustion Bracers
Handwraps of Resonance
Conductive Cord
Valorous Kirin Tor Leggings
Stormtip and Plasma Foil
Pillar of Fortitude and Unraveling Reach

Then, of course there are gems and enchants to take into account. So being at the hit cap is dependent on quite a few factors. You can't plan completely unless you know how circumstances will be constantly. And even then it takes a bit of juggling and takes time to build up the gear.

Happy raiding.

Edit: See the wishlist on Warcrafter.net.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore